Exeter Chiefs end-of-season awards: Olly Woodburn dominates

Olly Woodburn cemented his place as Exeter Chiefs’ standout performer during the 2022/23 season with a further two awards at the club’s end-of-season celebration this week.

At 31, Woodburn has rediscovered an incredibly rich vein of form to be named Exeter’s Player of the Year for a second time having picked up the award in 2016/17. While Chiefs as a team came up short in the playoff race in the Premiership this season to finish seventh in the table, Woodburn took his opportunity to be promoted back into being a starting winger with both hands as he seamlessly filled the void left by Tom O’Flaherty moving to Sale Sharks last summer.

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Woodburn also finished the club’s top try scorer as he helped Exeter reach the semi-final of the Heineken Champions Cup before getting knocked out by eventual champions La Rochelle who beat Leinster 27-26 on Saturday in the final in Dublin.

Woodburn’s brace of awards will be added to his fans’ player of the season accolade which he picked up at Exeter’s final home game of the year.

Rising lock star Daffyd Jenkins was named the men’s young player of the year to cap a breakout season where he became the youngest-ever captain in Gallagher Premiership history, leading Chiefs against London Irish in the Autumn at just 19 years old.

Jenkins also became a senior Wales international and led Exeter’s lineout throughout the campaign.

Both men’s success represents an important blueprint Chiefs are looking to follow next season, asking more previously fringe players and youngsters to step up and be counted following the exodus of star names.