Santi Grondona: Argentine back-row forward extends deal with Exeter Chiefs

Santi Grondona scored his first ty for Exeter in the Chiefs' Premiership defeat at Worcester

Exeter forward Santiago Grondona has extended his contract beyond the rest of this season at the Premiership club.

The 23-year-old Argentine international arrived in November on a deal until the end of this season as injury cover.

But he has impressed sufficiently for Exeter to extend the arrangement further, on an undisclosed-length deal.

"Santi came here initially on what you would call an 'opportunity contract' because we had a few injuries," said Chiefs director of rugby Rob Baxter.

"We have only really scratched the surface in terms of what Santi can bring to the team. Although he looks good at the moment, the growth and the development of him as a player is massive. For us, it was an easy decision to extend his stay.

"We know he will want to go away and play with Argentina and we obviously want him to play well enough for us to get selected by Argentina, but we also know he will come back and be available for large parts of the season, including through the Six Nations period."

Back-row forward Grondona admits that Argentine team-mate Facundo Cordero was a key factor in him coming to England and settling in so quickly.

"Facu has helped me a lot," added Grondona. "He picked up the first day, brought me to the club and showed me around, told me the calls and helped with everything. Having him here has been very good for me but all the boys and all the staff have been amazing."