Thomas Waldrom and Harry Williams sign new Exeter deals

Exeter have announced new deals for forwards Thomas Waldrom and Harry Williams that will keep them at Sandy Park until the end of the 2017/18 season.

The pair are the latest names to commit their futures to the Chiefs, joining Don Armand, Luke Cowan-Dickie, Alec Hepburn, Mitch Lees, Jack Nowell and Henry Slade.

Waldrom, who has a record of 36 tries in 54 appearance for the Chiefs, finished both seasons at Exeter as not only the club's leading try scorer but also as the Premiership's top try scorer.

Exeter head coach Rob Baxter said: "It's a reward for both of them for doing so well, but it also keeps that solidity within the squad that we like to have.

"Tom shown in the last couple of years that he's playing right at top of the game, but we are still confident that physically and mentally he is still up to contributing a lot to the team and to the club.

"It's the same for Harry, he came in for his first year last season and he did extremely well. There are not many guys who have come out of the Championship and found themselves playing in European quarter-finals, Premiership semi-finals, a Premiership final and done as well as he has."

Despite his recent performances, Baxter has warned that the England international will still have to fight for his place on the squad.

"The way we play, the way Tom plays, it's a good fit, but he knows he's going to gave to work incredibly hard to get into a back-row this year," Baxter said.

Baxter has also challenged Williams, who joined from Jersey at the start of last season, to raise his game against a plethora of international talent.

"As with a number of our lads, we looked hard at the Championship and we felt Harry had a lot of the right qualities that we craved," Baxter added. "Now, though, he has to be prepared to work very hard again."