Chiefs expecting a tough battle against Gloucester
Exeter Chiefs may have notched up an impressive seven-game winning streak, but club captain Tom Hayes insists nobody inside the Sandy Park is getting carried away with their impressive form.
Tomorrow, the Chiefs hit the halfway point in this season's Aviva Premiership season with a testing trip to Gloucester, who themselves will be looking to claim an early Christmas present at Kingsholm (3pm).
However, Rob Baxter's Chiefs will travel in confident mood, having not only recorded back-to-back Heineken Cup wins over Scarlets in the past fortnight, but safe in the knowledge that they know how to win at the home of the Cherry & Whites.
Back in March, Aly Muldowney's last-gasp try helped seal a memorable win for Exeter in Gloucester's own back yard and hopes are high the visitors can record something similar in this latest match-up.
Certainly Hayes says the mood within the Chiefs camp is upbeat ahead of their trek.
"Winning is a good habit to be in, but it certainly never gets easy," said the Irishman. "It's something we have to take confidence from and try to build on, so long as we don't think we're the finished article now and that the wins will come. We've worked hard for the wins we've got.
"As soon as we think it becomes a little bit easier and winning comes to you naturally it will come back and bite you. You have to be on your game, on your toes and getting excited about it, having that bit of desperation about you to go and try and rip what you can out of the game."
This weekend's clash is the first of three important league games for Baxter's squad, who were given a boost earlier this week with the news that full-back Luke Arscott is the latest player to commit his future to the club.
After the Gloucester trip, the Chiefs play host to Bath on December 29, before Northampton Saints visit a week later on January 5.
Hayes added: "They're a big block of games. We obviously haven't played Gloucester yet, but we've lost against the other two (Bath and Northampton).
"They're three games against teams in and around where we are in the league. Not that we concentrate on the league table too much, but it'll be interesting to see where we end up after this block of games."
With all three clubs vying to keep their place amongst the frontrunners, Hayes is well aware of the importance of the coming weeks.
He continued: "It seems to be a bit closer at the top this year. A couple of teams were running away with it last year and a lot of teams behind them were level.
"It's similar this year only everybody seems to be in it, there's nobody running away with it at this stage. Positions can chop and change so much that everybody is going to be going flat-out trying to take whatever opportunities are available."
Gloucester - with only one home defeat this season - pose the first creditable test for the Chiefs, who are expecting another tough battle.
"It's renowned as one of the hardest places to go and play, with the Shed, how partisan their supporters are and the noise they make trying to influence the game and the referee," he said. "We were certainly delighted with the win we managed to pick up there last year. We worked fairly hard to get it and we just about managed it with the time that was left on the clock.
"We know it's not going to be easy this year but we will go there, approach the game as we do most games and go after it to see what we can get out of it."
