Thursday 29 January 2015 11:43, UK
England forward Geoff Parling will join Exeter in the summer on a two-year deal, the Aviva Premiership club have announced.
The 31-year-old is leaving Leicester after six years at Welford Road which saw him win two Premiership titles and earn three caps for the British and Irish Lions against Australia in 2013.
The Chiefs have also secured the services of winger Olly Woodburn from Premiership rivals Bath on a two-year deal.
Chiefs head coach Rob Baxter told the club website: “During our time in the Premiership we’ve slowly looked to add quality and experience to the squad.
“Sometimes that happens by developing and working with your own players and them improving over time in the Premiership and Heineken Cup, but at the same time it’s also important in key positions to add quality and experience and I think that’s what Geoff does.
“There’s no secret that this season we have looked a bit light in the second-row department at times and Geoff is a proven international performer. He adds great experience in running things like the line-out, he has got good leadership experience as well and all those things add up to it being a very good signing for us.
“There’s a lot of positives from bringing in quality players and guys who have international and top-flight experience. We want experience of playing in the big games and it’s also helpful if you have guys who have experienced a lot of big games.
“When we went to Northampton and won, we had Thomas Waldrom there and he’s used to beating Northampton – he’s done it before. Sometimes when things get a bit tight, that bit of experience can just make all the difference in keeping everyone on the right path.”
Parling said: "Since Exeter came up (in 2010), they've done things in the right way. The Chiefs are also a lot like Leicester. They are very much a traditional rugby club, they have a great support base and it's a real hot-bed of rugby down there."
Woodburn added: "I'm really looking forward to the challenge, I've only ever been at Bath as a professional so it's going to be good to have a change of scenery and test myself in a different environment.
"I've spoken to one or two players who know the club and the set-up and they all say positive things about the place and that it's quite a tight knit group down there."
