Bury St Edmunds Rugby Club were delighted to learn last week that Toby Clinch, Louie Sinclair, Sol Moody and Junior Kpoku have joined Exeter Chiefs academy to further their professional rugby careers.

Bury St Edmunds Rugby Club & Finbrorough School have long enjoyed a successful relationship - with rugby right at the heart of it. We were therefore delighted to see that Finborough's outstanding ability to nurture rugby talent has once again been affirmed & recognised with this success story.

It is also pleasing to know that in the case of Toby, Louie and Sol, Bury St Edmunds Rugby Club have played a role in this achievement, as all were members of our mini and youth sections.

As a club, we wish Toby, Louie, Sol and Junior the very best of luck with this exciting next step on their journey. We are very proud of your achievements.

Below is the press release from Exeter Chiefs released last week.

The Exeter Chiefs have continued their drive to secure some of the brightest young talent in the country by snapping up four highly rated players, all hailing from the same school.

Toby Clinch, Louie Sinclair, Sol Moody and Junior Kpoku all enter the Chiefs ranks from Finborough School in Suffolk, having taken the school team to the National U18s Cup Semi-Finals last season.

With the Chiefs experiencing a changing of the guard, bidding farewell to some of the household names who have been mainstays of the club over the past decade, for Director of Rugby Rob Baxter, the focus is on producing the next generation of talent that will take the club back to the pinnacle of Domestic & European Rugby.

Baxter told us, “Personally, I am delighted that Toby, Sol, Louie and Junior have chosen to join our academy to further their professional rugby careers. All four are already showing the qualities of hard work, team buy in and pride in what they do that will hold them in really good stead going forward.

They have settled into the group quickly and have been taking a full part in pre-season training, they have arrived from Finborough School with some really good, solid rugby foundations and it is now our job to give them the opportunities to maximise their potential both in training and playing and I am really looking forward to watching them play some competitive games in the near future.

All four arrive at an exciting time for young players here at the Exeter Chiefs, we are invested in bringing through young players using our academy and University pathways and we are working extremally hard to make these pathways as successful and rewarding for the players and club as possible.”

It also marks a proud moment for Finborough School, who have seen growing success for their rugby programme over the past 10 years.

Head of Rugby for Finborough, Mitch Turner, commented “I am very proud of the boys and their achievement in joining such a great club as the Chiefs. The boys have worked extremely hard for this opportunity and it is testament to years of dedication and commitment. I have no doubt the boys will continue to grow and thrive and be part of an exciting time for the club.”

For young players to take their first steps into the world of professional rugby together is testament, not only to the schools pathway, but to the local clubs who nurtured their talents.

For Louie, Sol & Toby that was Bury St Edmunds Rugby club, who saw them through mini and youth sections whilst Louie also spent time at Hamilton Boy’s High School in New Zealand, the proving ground for All Blacks Tawera Kerr-Barlow and Sevu Reece.

As the 23/24 season approaches, for the Exeter Chiefs there is serious excitement building with a host of talented young players eager to make their mark and stake a claim for a starting shirt in a competitive squad.

Main article: https://www.exeterchiefs.co.uk/news/four-new-additions-from-finborough-school