THE chief executive of the Exeter Chiefs has admitted that he was so emotional when the club won promotion amid the monsoon-like Bristol rain back in May, he could not bear to watch the final 20 minutes.

Instead, Tony Rowe pounded the streets outside the ground unable to deal with the tension of being so close to achieving his long-held dream. It was only when the wild scenes of celebration greeted the final whistle that he realised they — and he — had finally done it.

Top-flight rugby for the team he loves had been a 12-year dream and a substantial emotional and financial investment for the 62-year-old.

Fast-forward three months and, with just two days until the team's Premiership bow, the excitement has not diminished for Mr Rowe who has been busy over the summer making sure everything is in place off the field for the coming season.

He said: "We are all incredibly excited and cannot wait for the season to get under way.

"Everyone at the club has been incredibly busy over the summer. Rob (Baxter) has been busy strengthening the squad where we can and I have been busy getting the ground improvements done. We have put in three new bars and two more snack areas and have increased the capacity by 1,000 so it is now 10,750.

"Everything is ready now and ticket sales have gone very well for the opening match. We have sold more than 8,000 so far and there is every chance we could get to capacity.

"It has been a 12-year journey to get the club here and I am fairly confident we can hang on in there this year and then build and strengthen for next year."

He said there has already been evidence that the Chiefs' new-found status had caught the imagination of the wider West Country rugby-loving public.

He said: "The region is more rugby than it is football and we have noticed a lot more season ticket holders are coming from Cornwall and Somerset than in previous years."

Of Saturday's opener against Gloucester at Sandy Park, Mr Rowe he hoped the crowd would be buzzing but it would finally be a chance for him to take a well-earned rest.

He said: "I do most of my work before the match and will be meeting and greeting on the day. Like everyone else I make sure that right up until kick-off everything is working as we want it to so the spectators can enjoy a great matchday experience.

"I think we have got a fair chance of getting a good result on Saturday.

"All we can ask the lads to do is their very best which I know they will."

Tickets are still available by visiting the office at the ground or www.exeterchiefs.co.uk.