Chiefs sign highly-rated Aaron Hinkley from Gloucester

Aaron Hinkley has agreed to join the Exeter Chiefs from Premiership rivals, Gloucester Rugby.

The 20-year-old forward will make the switch to Sandy Park this summer, having agreed a two-year deal with the Devon club.

He is Exeter’s third confirmed capture ahead of the 2020/21 season and follows Scottish internationals Jonny Gray and Sam Hidalgo-Clyne in joining Rob Baxter’s squad.

The Hereford-born flanker was a pupil at St Peter’s High School in Gloucester before joining the club’s Academy set-up in 2017. The following year he made his first-team debut as a replacement for Ben Morgan in an Anglo-Welsh Cup fixture against Newcastle Falcons.

Since then, he has combined life with the Cherry & Whites by featuring initially for Cinderford in the National League and then Hartpury College in the RFU Championship.

To date, he has featured 12 times for Gloucester, scoring tries against Harlequins and London Irish in this season’s Premiership Rugby Cup.