Baxter ready to unleash his Chiefs

Exeter Chiefs head coach Rob Baxter says he is ready to unleash a group of players this weekend who are "chomping at the bit" to get some competitive rugby under their belts.

After a testing nine-week block of action in both the Aviva Premiership and Heineken Cup, the Chiefs are now focusing their thoughts on this Saturday's opening LV= Cup encounter at home to holders Harlequins (3pm).

For those stars who have helped to propel the Devon outfit into the top four of the Premiership and also the summit of Pool Two in Europe, it's likely they will be given a well-earned break and into the breach will come a mix of the club's established and upcoming youngsters.

It's a blend which clearly excites the Exeter boss, who for the next fortnight will hand over the running of the Chiefs to trusty lieutenants Ricky Pellow and Rob Hunter. He said: "The LV= Cup is fantastic for us. We really enjoy that competition and we will give the majority of the players who played at Sale on Friday a break. We won't hide away from that, but we have got a strong squad at the moment.

"We have guys who clearly need game time and when you start to go through those players who are available to us, it's a strong group who we want to see players. These guys need are chomping at the bit and they need to be unleashed from the start. As I said, the LV= Cup is a great competition for us and we will go into it full on.

"All the guys involved with the LV are going to have a full-on week, and they are going to be very well prepared. I expect them to go out and win."

As well as Harlequins this week, the Chiefs travel to Bath on Sunday, November 17 before returning to the competition in the New Year with a home date against the Ospreys and a trip to Worcester Warriors.

Baxter added: "We have got some guys who have had a lot of bench-time who will get a lot more game-time in the next couple of weeks. We have also got some very good players, like James Hanks, Romana Graham, and Greg Bateman, coming back from injury, while Carl Rimmer is now 100 per cent fit again.

"Ben Moon has done really well this season and has produced some fantastic stuff, and he needs to be unleashed from the start.

"Then you look at the strength we have got at scrum-half, with the likes of Will Chudley and Stu Townsend, and then there is Henry Slade and Ceri Sweeney at fly-half, and Jack Nowell is fit again now. Luke Arscott is also back fit, and, when you start to go through the positions, you say to yourself: "We need these LV= Cup games because we want to see all of these boys play".

Tickets for Saturday's game are currently available either online through the Chiefs website - or through the Trading Post, which is open Monday to Friday from 10am to 4pm.

Pictures: Exeter Rugby Club/Pinnacle Photo Agency