Exeter lock down England trio

Exeter Chiefs have announced that England internationals Jack Nowell, Henry Slade and Luke Cowan-Dickie have all signed new two-year deals at Sandy Park.

The trio graduated through the club's academy and have each gone on to make more than 100 first-team appearances.

All were part of the Chiefs' Premiership title success in 2016-17 and it was confirmed on Sunday that they had committed their futures to Exeter until the end of the 2020-21 campaign.

Versatile back Nowell, centre Slade and front-row forward Cowan-Dickie have all been named in Eddie Jones' England squad for next month's Six Nations opener against defending champions Ireland, and Exeter's director of rugby Rob Baxter revealed negotiations had proved to be straightforward.

"I know people have been waiting to hear the news on these three guys for quite a while," he told the club's official website. "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."

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