Exeter Chiefs side to face Leicester Tigers

Exeter Chiefs may have cranked up the gears in recent weeks, but head coach Ali Hepher says his side can ill afford to take their foot off the pedal as they rev themselves up for a crucial month ahead in the Gallagher Premiership.

Back-to-back wins over Sale Sharks in the Heineken Champions Cup not only extended the Chiefs winning streak to five games, but allowed them to move within touching distance of the knockout phases of Europe for only the second time in the club's history.

Champions Cup matters, however, have now been put on the back burner until next month and it's top-flight action which dominates the horizon for the Devonians, who sit third in the current standings, four points adrift of league leaders Northampton Saints.

Ironically, they face the division's bottom two clubs - Saracens and Leicester Tigers - either side of Christmas, but Hepher knows from past experience that these two giants of the English game will pose a creditable threat, despite their lowly status.

"You only have to look at Leicester's team-sheet to see they have quality running throughout their team," warned Hepher. "They are a massive threat and they've had time to recharge themselves and get ready to go again this weekend.

"It's a massive fixture in terms of the season. Ask any side in the division, it doesn't get any bigger than playing Leicester away from home. That said, we're really excited about the challenge, we've trained well this week, and we're in a good position as a club. Hopefully, we can take that training form and recent performances out onto the pitch and the weekend."

As ever, though, Hepher says no-one in the Chiefs camp will be taking matters for granted.

"We've done well the last few weeks," he added. "It started with us knuckling down for that away game in La Rochelle and we've built from there. Our mentality has been spot-on, especially going from two weeks in Europe, to a week of the Premiership, then back to two more weeks in Europe again.

"When it's like that, you have to be mentally strong and that's what we've been. We've picked up four very good wins, two of them away from home, but it would have been easy for us to take our foot off the pedal and take those home games for granted. We didn't do that, we worked hard for one another, and we've come through very strongly."

Surprisingly, the Tigers currently find themselves in 11th spot in the table, an unusual position for English rugby's most decorated club.

"As I said, the World Cup probably didn't help them at the start of the season, losing so many players like they did," continued Hepher. "You can see, though, they are now starting to put together some partnerships and some combinations, which are extremely dangerous. That means we have to make sure we are organised and aware of the threats, but also look for opportunities ourselves."

Certainly, the Chiefs have been showcasing their all-court game across various competitions in recent weeks. As well as flying high in the Premiership and in the Champions Cup, two high-scoring, five-point wins in the Premiership Rugby Shield have also put the club top of the Southern Conference after two rounds.

With competition for places intense, Hepher says having such a highly competitive squad all pushing in the same direction is helping to bring the best out in everyone.

"At times it's been difficult to get enough game time into some of the players, but this current period, almost to a man, everyone is getting a game, which is fantastic," said Hepher. "As coaches, it allows us to see who the form horses are. We always say selection goes on form and those guys who show up best are the ones who get the jersey. Right now, there are lots of guys pressing hard and that is how we want it."

Such is the quality of the Chiefs squad across that board that despite making a number of changes to their starting line-up, it's a powerful 23 that will head to the East Midlands this weekend.

The visitors are resting international stars Alec Hepburn, Luke Cowan-Dickie, Sam Simmonds, Nic White and Jack Nowell completely, while Aussie lock Dave Dennis is only named amongst the replacements for tomorrow's game.

Into the starting line-up come Ben Moon and Elvis Taione in the front-row, Jannes Kirsten is added to the engine-room alongside Jonny Hill, whilst in the back-row both Don Armand and Matt Kvesic also get the nod from the outset.

Behind the scrum, Jack Maunder and Gareth Steenson form a new-look half-back pairing, Ollie Devoto returns to first-team duty for the first time since injuring his neck against Worcester Warriors back in October, while Olly Woodburn comes in on the wing for the absent Nowell.

On the bench, newcomers Kyle Cooper and Enrique Pieretto get their first involvements with the Chiefs squad, while fit-again scrum-half Stuart Townsend will be hoping to get his first taste of Premiership action this season.

15 Stuart Hogg

14 Olly Woodburn

13 Henry Slade (capt)

12 Ollie Devoto

11 Ian Whitten

10 Gareth Steenson

9 Jack Maunder

1 Ben Moon

2 Elvis Taione

3 Harry Williams

4 Jannes Kirsten

5 Jonny Hill