Exeter Chiefs have announced the signing of Corey Baldwin from PRO14 outfit the Scarlets ahead of the 2020/21 season.
The 21-year-old back, who can play in the centre or on the wing will join the club in the summer and is looking forward to the challenge ahead.
“I’m really looking forward to the move. Exeter are a hugely successful club, well coached, play a great brand of rugby, and have some top class players within their squad. They have shown for a number of years now that they are one of the best teams around, so for me it’s going to be a great challenge to go down there and test myself in a different environment. Obviously, I’m very grateful to the Scarlets for the chances they’ve given me over the years. Without them I wouldn’t be where I am now, but the time has come to try something new and that’s going to be with the Chiefs,” he said.
Baldwin has represented England at U20’s level, having come through the academy at the Welsh region and his arrival at Sandy Park excites Chiefs’ director of rugby Rob Baxter.
“Corey’s one of those guys that, as soon as we knew he was on the market, both myself and Ali Hepher sat down and said this guy has something special. He’s a guy with genuine raw pace, he’s a very good defender, and he’s got a number of attributes that we love down here at Exeter. He kick-chases flat out, makes contributions at the end of those chases, works very hard in defence, scrambles very well, and again someone we feel we can get even more out of moving forward. I think his preferred position is outside centre, but he’s played a fair bit on the wing for the Scarlets. We can see him being very good in either position and he’s a guy who is at the right age, already playing at a high level, and a player who we can see really thriving in our environment,” he said.
His signing is the latest in Exeter’s recruitment drive ahead of next season having already snapped up Jonny Gray, Sam Hidalgo-Clyne and Aaron Hinkley.
Before then the club are hoping to push on in both the Premiership and Champions Cup with a game against Bath this weekend as they look to maintain their lead at the top of the English top division.
