Former Exeter double-winner Ricky Pellow joins Zimbabwe ahead of 36-year Rugby World Cup return

Ricky Pellow, the former Exeter Chiefs skills coach who won two Premiership titles and a Champions Cup during 16 seasons at Sandy Park, has been appointed backs and attack coach of Zimbabwe as the Sables count down to their first Rugby World Cup appearance in 36 years.

Pellow, who ended his long association with Exeter in 2025 and is currently director of sport at National 1 club Camborne, confirmed the appointment on LinkedIn. “A fantastic opportunity to work alongside some great coaches and an exciting group of players as we prepare for the upcoming camps and Nations Cup fixtures,” he wrote. “Really looking forward to being part of what has been a really exciting journey for the group.”

The Cornish scrum-half-turned-coach was a key figure in Rob Baxter’s staff at Sandy Park, contributing to Premiership titles in 2017 and 2020, the latter part of a historic league-and-European double. He also played a leading role in Exeter’s domestic cup victories in 2014, 2019 and 2022.

His role with the Sables will run alongside his commitments at Camborne, and his first involvement comes when the World Rugby Nations Cup resumes next month. Zimbabwe have two UK-based fixtures: against Samoa at the DIY Kitchens Stadium in Wakefield on 7 November, and against Uruguay at Ealing’s Trailfinders ground on 14 November, before travelling to Angoulême to face Chile on 21 November.

The Nations Cup return follows a difficult opening phase for Zimbabwe in July, where they lost all three matches — 36-26 to Tonga, 31-15 to the USA, and 23-19 to Canada — but the results did little to dampen the broader excitement surrounding the squad.

African champions Zimbabwe will end a 36-year absence from the Rugby World Cup when they make their third appearance at the tournament — and their first of the professional era — in Australia in 2026. They have been drawn in Pool F alongside England, Wales and Tonga, a group that will test the Sables but also offer them a stage unlike anything the current generation of players has experienced.

Pellow’s appointment signals Zimbabwe’s intent to build a genuine attacking identity ahead of that historic return.