Exeter Chiefs have announced they are creating a new professional women’s rugby team.

This will be the club’s first-ever affiliated women’s team with the aim of securing a place within the Tyrell’s Premier 15s League ahead of the 2020/21 season. 

The Rugby Football Union will award four licences in March for a revised 10-team league.

Former England Women internationals Susie Appleby and Amy Garnett will be coaching the senior squad.

Appleby, who will be head coach, joins from Gloucester-Hartpury Women’s team. She has won over 65 caps for England during her career as a player and helped lead Gloucester-Hartpury to the Women’s National Junior Cup title.

She said: “Our challenge is to grow the game down in Devon and Cornwall, provide the facility for them to get to a club like Exeter Chiefs.

“But we’re under no illusions. To compete at Tyrell Premier 15s level we’ll need experienced players as well.”

Assisting Appleby will be Garnett, who has appeared at three rugby world cups and is England’s most capped hooker of all time with 100 caps. She has also captained Saracens Women to consecutive Premiership titles.

Exeter are spending £500,000 to set up the new team and anticipate the overall cost will be between £1m and £1.5m in order to run a successful women’s side.

Exeter Rugby chief executive Tony Rowe said: “It’s been an ambition of mine for a while now to get a women’s team up and running.

“We see this as an opportunity to make us not only a completely rounded club, but a club who are working incredibly hard to promote the women’s game in this country.”

Director of Rugby Rob Baxter said: “The board are very enthusiastic about establishing a very strong women’s team. Both Susie and Amy come with a huge amount of experience within the women’s game and I don’t think we could have found a better combination to come in.”

The RFU will examine the existing Premier 15s side based on a combination of their on-pitch performance and ability. The top six sides based on that decision will be given a licence for the next three years.