{"id":393723,"date":"2026-01-27T20:15:16","date_gmt":"2026-01-27T20:15:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/393723\/"},"modified":"2026-01-27T20:15:16","modified_gmt":"2026-01-27T20:15:16","slug":"will-rigg-leaves-exeter-chiefs-to-join-newcastle-red-bulls-as-neil-mcilroy-explains-key-reason-for-signing","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/393723\/","title":{"rendered":"Will Rigg leaves Exeter Chiefs to join Newcastle Red Bulls as Neil McIlroy explains key reason for signing"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Centre Rigg has scored 10 tries in 29 appearances for Exeter Chiefs since joining the club from Coventry Rugby<\/p>\n<p>10:34, 27 Jan 2026Updated 14:03, 27 Jan 2026<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"eager\"  src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/0_GettyImages-2195292429.jpg\" \/><\/p>\n<p aria-label=\"Exeter Chiefs' Will Rigg celebrates scoring his sides second try against Saracens (Photo by Bob Bradford - CameraSport via Getty Images)\" class=\"ImageCaption_caption-title__ccyQU\" data-testid=\"caption-title\">Exeter Chiefs&#8217; Will Rigg celebrates scoring his sides second try against Saracens (Photo by Bob Bradford &#8211; CameraSport via Getty Images)<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\">Will Rigg&#8217;s line-breaking ability at centre has been highlighted as one of the key reasons Newcastle Red Bulls have signed the physical 25-year-old from<a aria-label=\"\" class=\"TextLink_text-link__dBSS0 TextLink_enabled__dJF3l\" href=\"https:\/\/www.devonlive.com\/all-about\/exeter-chiefs\" rel=\"follow nofollow noopener\" tabindex=\"0\" target=\"_self\"> Exeter Chiefs<\/a> ahead of next season.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\">Rigg quickly established himself as a fan favourite at Sandy Park since arriving from Champ Rugby side Coventry, but has found first-team game time hard to come by, scoring 10 tries in 29 appearances in all competitions for <a aria-label=\"\" class=\"TextLink_text-link__dBSS0 TextLink_enabled__dJF3l\" href=\"https:\/\/www.devonlive.com\/all-about\/exeter\" rel=\"follow nofollow noopener\" tabindex=\"0\" target=\"\">Exeter<\/a> since making his debut against Newcastle.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\"><a aria-label=\"\" class=\"TextLink_text-link__dBSS0 TextLink_enabled__dJF3l\" href=\"https:\/\/www.devonlive.com\/sport\/rugby\/match-reports\/exeter-chiefs-player-ratings-narrow-10775645\" rel=\"follow nofollow noopener\" tabindex=\"0\" target=\"_self\">READ MORE: Exeter Chiefs player ratings from narrow Bristol Bears defeat &#8211; &#8216;The man for the occasion&#8217;<\/a><\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\">He joins current Chiefs teammates Josh Hodge and Rusi Tuima in making the move to the northern Gallagher PREM club ahead of the 2026\/27 season.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\">Newcastle Red Bulls sporting general manager Neil McIlroy said: \u201cWill has shown plenty of line-breaking ability during his time with Exeter, which will be a big asset for us as we look to build our game over the next few seasons.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\">\u201cHe\u2019s a physical ball carrier with a good turn of pace, and I\u2019m looking forward to seeing his continued progress within our environment.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\">Rigg said: \u201cI\u2019d like to thank the club for the opportunities it has given me to play at the highest level. Playing with and against some of the best players in the world has been amazing and for this, I\u2019ll always be grateful.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\">\u201cThe timing is right, however, for me to move on and explore an exciting new project. Personally, I believe the move is the right thing for my own rugby development and I am excited for the next step in my career.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\">\u201cI\u2019d like to personally thank the supporters for all their positivity towards both me and the team in the time I\u2019ve been here. Through highs and lows, you\u2019ve always stuck by us.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\">\u201cFinally, to the lads, thanks for all the memories both on and off the pitch, it\u2019s been a pleasure. We aren\u2019t done yet, I\u2019m still hopeful to make some positive contributions to this team throughout the remainder of the season. I hugely believe we are capable of winning trophies, and I would love to help towards that.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\">With Wallabie Len Ikitau having only signed for one season, Chiefs director of rugby Rob Baxter is set to bring in some reinforcements in the midfled, with Bath Rugby&#8217;s Will Butt expected to make the move to Sandy Park.<\/p>\n<p>Exeter Chiefs on Whatsapp<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\">Join DevonLive&#8217;s Whatsapp community for all the biggest Exeter Chiefs stories sent straight to your phone<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\"><a aria-label=\"\" class=\"TextLink_text-link__dBSS0 TextLink_enabled__dJF3l\" href=\"https:\/\/www.devonlive.com\/all-about\/exeter-chiefs\" rel=\"follow nofollow noopener\" tabindex=\"0\" target=\"_self\">DevonLive<\/a> is now on WhatsApp and we want you to join our community.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\">Through the app, we\u2019ll send the Exeter Chiefs by news, live match coverage, team news, transfers, fixtures, analysis and more straight to your phone.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\">To join our community you need to already have WhatsApp. All you need to do is <a aria-label=\"\" class=\"TextLink_text-link__dBSS0 TextLink_enabled__dJF3l\" href=\"https:\/\/chat.whatsapp.com\/GjCeluqIQxDIg93ZlqOqed\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" tabindex=\"0\" target=\"_self\">click this link and select \u2018Join Community\u2019.<\/a><\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\">No one will be able to see who is signed up and no one can send messages except the <a aria-label=\"\" class=\"TextLink_text-link__dBSS0 TextLink_enabled__dJF3l\" href=\"https:\/\/www.devonlive.com\/\" rel=\"follow nofollow noopener\" tabindex=\"0\" target=\"_self\">DevonLive <\/a>team.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\">We also treat community members to special offers, promotions and adverts from us and our partners. If you don\u2019t like our community, you can check out at any time you like. If you\u2019re curious, you can read our <a aria-label=\"\" class=\"TextLink_text-link__dBSS0 TextLink_enabled__dJF3l\" href=\"https:\/\/www.reachplc.com\/site-services\/privacy-policy\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" tabindex=\"0\" target=\"_self\">Privacy Notice.<\/a><\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\"><a aria-label=\"\" class=\"TextLink_text-link__dBSS0 TextLink_enabled__dJF3l\" href=\"https:\/\/chat.whatsapp.com\/GjCeluqIQxDIg93ZlqOqed\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" tabindex=\"0\" target=\"_self\">Click here to join our WhatsApp community.<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Centre Rigg has scored 10 tries in 29 appearances for Exeter Chiefs since joining the club from Coventry&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":393724,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[35],"tags":[79263,5903,101,56,54,55],"class_list":["post-393723","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-rugby","tag-exeter-chiefs","tag-rugby","tag-sports","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom","tag-unitedkingdom"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/393723","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=393723"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/393723\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/393724"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=393723"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=393723"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=393723"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}