Ali Hepher says Exeter want to “put the hammer down” as their Aviva Premiership title defence gathers pace.
The Chiefs host Gloucester on Sunday and victory could be enough to secure a top-four finish and a place in next month’s knockout phase.
“We’ve been working towards this for a long time now,” said Exeter head coach Hepher.
“Things are getting more exciting by the week, but we know we have a tough challenge at the weekend against a Gloucester side flying high and going strong at the moment.
“We are expecting Gloucester to be full bore, but they will also get us full bore. It’s a great challenge for us to have, but these are the challenges you need to make sure you peak at the end of the season.
“We know Gloucester have threats across the board. They play with an open style, bring lots of line-speed and come at you from all angles.”
England internationals Luke Cowan-Dickie and Jack Nowell return from injury – hooker Cowan-Dickie starts and wing Nowell is on the bench – with only fly-half Joe Simmonds and flanker Dave Dennis remaining on starting duty following last week’s Anglo-Welsh Cup final triumph against Bath.
“We’ve got a large majority of the squad available to us,” Hepher added.
📢 – TEAM NEWS: Here is your @ExeterChiefs side to face @gloucesterrugby in Sunday’s sold-out @premrugby clash at @SandyParkExeter (3pm) ⬇️https://t.co/r8SkZPczYh pic.twitter.com/ToQz7j3TAZ
— Exeter Chiefs (@ExeterChiefs) April 6, 2018
“The medical team have done a great job in getting a few of the guys back from injury, so now we are looking to put the hammer down and really hit our straps in terms of performance over these last few weeks.”
Gloucester are outsiders to make the play-offs, with a top-six finish and automatic European Champions Cup qualification for next season looking a more realistic goal.
Head coach Johan Ackermann has made four changes from the side that gained a thrilling European Challenge Cup victory over Connacht last weekend, with Tom Hudson, Josh Hohneck, Tom Savage and Ruan Ackermann all gaining starts.
“Personally, I am proud of the character shown by the players against Connacht,” Ackermann said. “Hopefully, collectively as a team, the players will take confidence from that.
“But we will have to be a lot better on Sunday at Exeter. We are not happy with our inconsistency at the moment. It cost us against Newcastle, it cost us in the draw against Wasps.
“It’s water under the bridge and we don’t want to look back on it. But, then again, you look at how badly we started at London Irish (two weeks ago), and we were up and down as well at Connacht. We made it quite hard for ourselves.
“Exeter won’t let you get away with that. You give them a 17-0 start like we did at London Irish, and you are going to have a long day coming back from that.
“Our whole performance, for the whole 80 minutes, against the defending champions will have to be a much improved one.”
