Exeter Chiefs sign free-agent No.8 Tuipulotu to cover Capstick injury

Exeter Chiefs have signed free-agent No.8 Carwyn Tuipulotu with immediate effect, with head coach Rob Baxter using an injury dispensation slot to bolster his back-row options at the start of the Gallagher Premiership season.

The 24-year-old arrives after leaving Top 14 side Pau during the summer and has been training with the Dragons to maintain his fitness while searching for a new club. His signing is a direct response to the lengthy rehabilitation still facing Richard Capstick, and Tuipulotu will join Chiefs training this week ahead of being available for selection.

Tuipulotu is a former Wales U20 international who made more than 45 appearances for the Scarlets before spending part of the 2024/25 season on loan at Saracens and then moving to France. He is capable of operating across the back-row but specialises at No.8, and Baxter has highlighted his ball-carrying ability as the quality that sets him apart from the options already in the squad.

The move also carries a personal dimension: Tuipulotu is the cousin of Exeter back-row Greg Fisilau, with the pair having grown up together.

“I’m excited to have the chance to hopefully share the shirt with Greg,” Tuipulotu said. “Having grown up together, our families are just as excited. We’re cousins but we grew up like brothers, so this is an extremely special opportunity. I’m really looking forward to ripping in with the boys and trying to contribute to what the club is pushing to achieve.”

Tuipulotu also cited conversations with former Exeter players now based in France — Joe Simmonds and Harry Williams — as influential in his decision, saying their praise of the club’s family-oriented culture aligned with his own values.

Baxter confirmed he had tracked Tuipulotu before the opportunity arose. “My attention was brought to Carwyn, as he’s actually someone I had looked at before after being impressed with his ball-carrying ability,” the head coach said. “I liked what I saw in some of his final games of last season for Pau, so I felt he’d be a good addition to us and different to the players we already have. We’ve moved pretty quickly to bring him in.”