Has Red Bull’s Newcastle takeover helped Exeter’s investment hopes?

Baxter would not be drawn on any specifics of the proposed deal, with Exeter refusing to comment until the club’s 700 members are consulted at a special general meeting in early May.

But he says the sport is changing and new investment in the league will help it grow.

From next season the Prem will no longer have traditional promotion and relegation – instead clubs with ambitions to play in the top flight will apply to join the league as it becomes more of a franchise model.

“Everything is going to adapt and change over time, it just will,” added Baxter, who is the longest-serving director of rugby in the top flight and agreed a new ‘multi-year’ contract earlier this month.

“You need to remember that there will be some investors who also like the traditional values and elements of the game, so it’s not always just going to be everyone who comes in wants to radically change everything.

“I think we need to be a little bit careful before we start going down the route that rugby is going to change forever in the wrong way. It might change forever, but it might change in a positive way.

“It might be more engaging for young people, it might be something that more young people start to do rather than less young people, which is the current situation.

“So I think we’ve got to try and create a positive trend from any kind of investment or any extra interest that comes into the game rather than look at the negatives.”