Exeter Chiefs have received a boost after three England internationals, Luke Cowan-Dickie, Jack Nowell and Henry Slade, signed new contracts.

The impressive trio have all put pen to paper on two-year deals that will keep them at Sandy Park until the end of the 2020/2021 campaign.

Having all come through the Devon club’s academy structure, they have since gone on to establish themselves as household names within the Chiefs ranks, each of them amassing over 100 first-team appearances, as well as helping Exeter lift a first-ever Premiership title in 2017.

The news that all three players want to continue their careers with the Chiefs is understandably a huge boost for director of rugby Rob Baxter, who believes that the best is still yet to come from them in the upcoming years.

“I know people have been waiting to hear the news on these three guys for quite a while,” said Baxter. “However, the truth is the talk on their extensions started pretty early and that they have gone quite simply.

“I know sometimes it must seem a little difficult when there is a lot of paper talk about players leaving or interest being shown in them, but all three guys said right from the beginning that their intentions were to stay at Exeter and that they wanted to stay with us long term.

“All it really came down to is just finding that right balance in that they feel appreciated here, and we feel that they are right value for us. To be fair, that was relatively simple, so we are delighted to keep them and we are hoping they can be a core element of what the team can go on to achieve over the next five or six years.”

With Scotland and British & Irish Lions full-back Stuart Hogg set to move to the Chiefs at the start of next season, Baxter is already piecing together a powerful array of talent to challenge on all fronts moving forward.

“What’s really nice about them, is that a bit like the rest of the team, they come together as a very strong group,” he said. “Individually, they are all very different and they have different strengths and weaknesses, but what they all choose to do is come together and work hard for one another.”

Baxter added: “What’s important now for all of us is that over these next few years we give all of them an opportunity for to enjoy their ambitions, which is ultimately to be successful and to try and win things. They’ve obviously bought into the club for the next two years and now we have to buy into them and help them achieve what they want to achieve.”