Steenson granted freedom of Exeter

Ulsterman is adopted Devonian

Exeter Chiefs former fly-half Gareth Steenson, the team's all-time leading points-scorer, is to become a freeman of the city of Exeter.

Exeter City Council is bestowing the honour on the Ulsterman in recognition for his years of service to the club, the sport and the city.

Mr Steenson, who joined the Chiefs from the Cornish Pirates in 2008, made 311 appearances for the Sandy Park team, winning two Premiership titles, a European Champions Cup, and two Anglo-Welsh Cups.

The 36-year-old retired at the end of last season following the Chiefs' historic League and European double.

Cllr Phil Bialyk, Labour leader of the council, making the recommendation, said: “It is a great privilege to ask Exeter City Council to make Gareth Steenson a freeman. He is one of the originals who brought them from the championship to be the best in Europe. He is simply a local legend.”

As well as his rugby career, Steenson also co-owns a pub in the city centre, The Stand Off. Seconding the recommendation, Cllr Andrew Leadbetter (Conservative) said: “He has played an vital and influential role in the meteoric rise of the Exeter Chiefs and he has been there for every stage of the Chiefs’ incredible journey, and with his pub, he continues to play a part in the life of the city.”

In response to the nomination, the Mr Steenson had said: “To receive freedom of the city would be a huge honour. Exeter is my adopted home and the warmth the people of Exeter have shown me over the last 12-13 years has been truly humbling.

“I have been welcomed into the heart of the Exeter community, which means so much to me. I have been fortunate to be part of an incredible journey at Exeter Chiefs and witnessed first-hand the growth of not just the club but the city and community as a whole.

“The support I have received both on and off the pitch has been overwhelming. To receive this honour from a city I love would be an incredibly proud moment.”

The report to the meeting said: “Gareth has been a symbol of this growth in the impact of the club, he has been an ever present presence through this period of growth and accomplishment. For commentators and fans of rugby outside of Exeter, Gareth has been the leader and character behind the team and the personification of the qualities that have made Exeter unique.”

Mr Steenson now follows Chiefs' chairman Tony Rowe OBE and director of rugby Rob Baxter in being granted freedom of the city, and Cllr Bialyk added: “Please do not bring all your sheep into the city centre at the same time as we will not be able to move.”

There are a number of rights traditionally associated with freemen such as the right to drive sheep through the city or carry a sword in public. While sheep have occasionally been driven through Exeter, the “privileges” are now effectively symbolic.

Freedom by succession is still granted today to any person who can prove descent from a deceased freeman. Proof of descent is required by the production of the usual certificates of death of father, marriage and birth.