Brought in last August initially on a trial basis to cover injured skipper Dean Mumm following shoulder surgery, the 22-year-old forward has certainly settled well to life in the Westcountry.
Having initially done enough to impress head coach Rob Baxter into rewarding him with a deal until the end of the current campaign, the young Irishman will now be on board at Sandy Park until the end of the 2015/16 season after agreeing terms on a new contract this week.
“Rob spoke to me in February and said he wanted to keep me on for next year,” explained Sexton. “I had offers from other clubs, but I never wanted to leave the Chiefs. As soon as the offer came in from Rob, it was a bit of a no-brainer because I just wanted to stay with Exeter and develop my career here.”
Working alongside the likes of Mumm, Damian Welch and Mitch Lees, Sexton has certainly grown in confidence this season, forging himself as a key member in the Exeter squad that reached this season’s LV= Cup final against Saracens.
Sexton has also picked up a Premiership appearance against Gloucester in early January and was also a regular fixture for the Exeter Braves during another decent showing in this season’s A League.
“I took everything three months at a time,” explained Sexton, who is the younger brother of Ireland and British Lions fly-half Jonathan Sexton. “I first arrived here to cover Dean’s injury, but the coaches were happy with what they saw, so they gave me another contract through to the end of this season.
“Ever since I arrived, I’ve enjoyed every minute of things. It’s a great club, the coaches here are great and I’ve learnt so much from both Rob Baxter and Rub Hunter, as well as the likes of Dean Mumm and Damian Welch. With Geoff Parling coming in next season, I just want to improve my game even more and make myself a regular Premiership player in the future.”
Having arrived following Exeter’s gruelling pre-season schedule this season, Sexton says he is sure to benefit from being on site from the outset next term.
“I just want to get a good pre-season behind me and play some games in the round-robin tournament against Gloucester and Bath,” he added. “I want to be able to show the coaches what I can do, so I’m just going to start the hard work from here and take it into pre-season and hope I can make the standard again.”
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