Among the best stories in modern British team sport has been the rise of Exeter Chiefs. How, exactly, did an unfashionable rugby team from Devon emerge from obscurity to become the double champions of England and Europe? What makes them tick? What are their secrets?

Exe Men is a compelling story of regional pride, fierce rural identity, larger-than-life local heroes, remarkable characters, epic resilience, big city snobbery, geographical separation, steepling ambition and personal sacrifice which will strike a chord with anyone who enjoys a classic underdog story.

This is not any old rugby book, it is the inside story of Exeter’s incredible journey from the edge of nowhere to the summit of the English and European club game.

Prizes

Winner of Telegraph Sports Book Awards Rugby Book of the Year 2021

'A beautifully-written, amusing and insightful book that gets to the very heart of Exeter Chiefs – a rugby club with one of the most remarkable stories in British sport. Exe Men is the best rugby book I’ve read in years'

'Forensic, funny, captivating, a story told with relish as well as insight'

'No Exeter fan should be without this book, nor any sports fan who loves a fairy tale grounded in professionalism. Splendid stuff'

'Exeter Chiefs – the community club that grew into a European giant. This is how they did it. A quite brilliant combination of great story and great storyteller'

'Beautifully told, this is a rare insight into the remarkable rise of the Chiefs, from their homespun roots to the pinnacle of European rugby – surely one of the most heart-warming tales in all of British sport'

'Punchy and penetrative, Robert Kitson has done justice to one of sport’s greatest stories. If you don’t already love Exeter, you will now'

'So much more than a rugby book and full of genuinely funny anecdotes, this is a read for anyone interested in building a winning team'

Robert Kitson has been The Guardian’s rugby union correspondent since 1999 and is one of the UK’s most respected sports writers. He has covered eight Rugby World Cups, five British and Irish Lions tours and in excess of 300 Tests worldwide. As well as rugby he has also been to five Olympic Games, worked at multiple football and cricket World Cups, covered cricket in Australia, West Indies, India and Pakistan and written on virtually every major sport. He was highly commended in the SJA Rugby Journalist of the Year awards in 2015.