The Exeter club was formed around 1871 and played its first match in 1873 where it won by one touchdown and four saves to two saves. The first team was rebranded as the Exeter Chiefs and play in a strip of Black (Home), White (Away).

The club has an impressive record of achievement on the field, with many players achieving international honours. The club also has a strong youth section of eight to 18-year-olds followed by an amateur club called Exeter Athletic. It also runs a successful community programme called Community Chiefs that comes into to contact with thousands of children every year.

The Chiefs moved into their current facilities at Sandy Park in September 2006 at a cost of ?15m. A crucial element of the planning of Sandy Park has been not only to create a modern sporting stadium, but also to combine that with a first-class conference and function venue for the region.

The 2009/10 season turned out to be the best yet for Exeter with a record run of opening league game wins intercepted by a three-match dip during the Christmas period, followed by another collection of wins to put them in second place in the league. This left Exeter at the top of pool B for the play-off phase and four wins in this six-game stage gave them a home semi-final against Bedford Blues. Chiefs comfortably dispatched the Blues to set up a two-leg Championship final against Bristol Rugby.

The 2010/11 season will see Exeter Chiefs play in the Premiership, Amlin Challenge Cup and LV= Cup for the very first time.