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Premiership champions Northampton Saints have appointed Julia Chapman as their new chief executive.

She has been promoted from chief operating officer to replace Mark Darbon, who is leaving the club to become CEO of golf's R&A, based at St Andrew's in Scotland.

A graduate of Cambridge University and qualified chartered accountant, Chapman first joined Saints as finance director in 2016 and had a key role in helping stabilise the club's finances during the Covid pandemic.

"I’ve expanded my role over the last few years, so this feels like a natural progression for me," she told the club website.

"We’ve seen a period of success, on and off the pitch, over the last few years but there are still so many opportunities for us to develop and a lot to play for as a business."

She continued: "There are still challenges ahead too, both for Saints specifically and within the wider landscape of rugby more generally, but we have a really strong strategy in place and having an in-depth understanding of the club’s finances gives me a head start within my new role as we look to build a sustainable future by returning to profitability as soon as possible.”

Northampton beat Bath 25-21 at Twickenham in last season's Premiership final - their first title win for a decade.

The club, though, announced a £1.1m loss before tax in the year to the end of June 2023, despite a club-record turnover of almost £22m.

Chapman will take up the new role at the end of November when Darbon departs for his new job with the R&A, who organise the Open Championship each year.

Describing her as the "stand-out choice", chairman John White said: “We were very keen to ensure a smooth transition following Mark Darbon’s successful tenure, and we have no doubt that Julia’s understanding of our priorities moving forwards will ensure that we continue to improve how we operate, and drive success both on and off the pitch.

“Northampton Saints is in good health, but continuous improvement is what we are all about, so we will welcome her insight and ideas moving forwards."

Chapman is the second female chief executive in the Premiership, along with Andrea Pinchen of Leicester Tigers - Lucy Wray stepped down from the role at Saracens at the end of January.

Saints will begin the new season with a re-match against Bath at The Rec on Friday 20 September.