#3. Jannes Kirsten to Bulls
The versatile forward is returning home from Exeter to South Africa at the end of the season the club have confirmed.
Kirsten has agreed a three-year deal with his former club the Vodacom Bulls having recently run out against the South African side in Pretoria in the Heineken Champions Cup.
The 29-yea-rild lock, who can also play in the backrow row, initially signed on a short term deal at Exeter in 2019 but quickly established himself as a key player in the Chiefs squad that went on to complete the Champions Cup and Premiership double in 2020.
So far he has made 75 first-team appearances for the club, scoring six tries.
#4. Dave Ewers to Ulster
Ewers will be leaving the Gallagher Premiership club at the end of the current campaign to join United Rugby Championship side, Ulster Rugby.
The 32-year-old has been a stand-out figure for the Chiefs over many years, so far amassing 226 first-team games and 38 tries for the Devon club.
A product of the club’s highly successful Academy system, Ewers made his debut back in 2009 in a British & Irish Cup fixture away to Newport at Rodney Parade.
Since then, he has helped the club to lift the LV= Cup in 2014, as well as two Premiership Rugby titles, as well a Heineken Champions Cup crown.
A destructive ball-carrier, as well as robust defender, it remains a mystery how Ewers has never been capped at Test level. A consistent performer on the big stage, he is the third confirmed departure at the end of the season, joining Luke Cowan-Dickie and Sam Simmonds, both of whom are joined French Top 14 outfit, Montpellier.
Commenting on his departure, Ewers said: “Obviously, I’m gutted to be leaving the Chiefs. It has been my life for so many years and I’ve been blessed to have made so many happy memories, as well as life-long friends.
“To sum up all those years in words is incredibly tough to do, but it’s been an unbelievable journey and one that I am very proud to have been part of. Like all good things, they have to come an end at some stage and now I have a new chapter in my career to look forward to with Ulster.
“Between now and then, I have a big job to do here at the Chiefs and I will be doing everything I can to ensure that my final months with Exeter are the best they can be.”
