Chiefs side to face Falcons

Having spent the past fortnight going toe-to-toe with reigning European champions RC Toulon in the Heineken Cup, it's back to the blood and thunder of the Aviva Premiership this weekend for the Exeter Chiefs, who tomorrow welcome Newcastle Falcons to Sandy Park (3pm).

After a punishing run of fixtures, both domestically and in Europe, the Chiefs will be looking not only to address a five-game losing streak, but at the same time deliver an early Christmas present to their supporters in the final home game of 2013.

Despite recent setbacks, assistant coach Ali Hepher insists Devon's finest remain in bullish mood ahead of their return to league action and is confident his team can rediscover their winning formula against last season's Championship winners.

"It's a massive fixture for us, probably more so than those in the last few weeks," said Hepher. "Our focus is always on the Premiership and we always judge ourselves in that way, so we need to get winning. At the same time, it's also exciting, because we are in a good place, we've been performing well despite results, and now we'll be looking to put in another big performance that we hope we can see through to a victory."

A quick glance at the high class calibre of opposition the Chiefs have tackled in the last month - Bath, Saracens and Toulon twice - underlines the reason why Hepher and the Chiefs coaching team are not getting too concerned by recent outcomes.

"We're staying positive about where we are at and how we are performing," added Hepher. "Right now our performances in both defence and attack have been good, but what we have to make sure is we get our rewards for that and it's about remaining strong and not changing too much because you haven't always come away with the result.

"If the performance is key then the results tend to take care of themselves most of the time. As always we'll stay strong to our beliefs and we don't tend to get carried away with wins and losses. Had we had won those games we would have just batted on as normal and kept pretty low key. However, the main focus is this weekend, which is a massive Premiership game for us."

In previous top flight encounters between the Chiefs and the Falcons, it's been Exeter who have held the upper hand on each occasion, but Hepher feels Newcastle's year in the Championship has not only allowed them to rebuild internally, but at the same rediscover that winning feeling.

"They have strong foundations and they are a tough side to play against," warned Hepher. "They are strong defensively and they'll be tough to crack, so we know we'll have to play exceptionally well for a full 80 mins to get anything out of the game at the weekend. We're under no illusions about the task in hand, but this is the Premiership and you get it every week. We're aware we are capable of putting in good performance against Premiership sides, so we are fully focused on that and if we get it right at our end, hopefully we'll come away with the win."

With crucial league fixtures against the Falcons, Harlequins and London Wasps coming up over the festive period, Hepher says it's vital the Chiefs use this upcoming block of fixtures to further cement their spot amongst the division's frontrunners.

"It's an important period for us in terms of the season," said Hepher. "In the past being in that top six has been vital in terms of qualification for the Heineken Cup. Who knows what it will lead to this year, but I'd imagine the top six will be important again, so we have to push hard to be in that mix. We've got games coming thick and fast right now, including the Big Game at Twickenham against Harlequins and then Wasps away, so it's important we produce some big performances during this time. We did it last year coming out of the Heineken and that will be the aim this time as well."

Ahead of kick-off, the Chiefs have made a handful of changes to their starting line-up for the game. Damian Welch, Ben White and Kai Horstmann all return in the pack; Gareth Steenson is back at fly-half having missed the Toulon away game with a shoulder injury, whilst Sam Hill comes into the centre at the expense of the injured Phil Dollman.

Also included from the outset are prop Ben Moon, who will be making his 100th senior appearance for the club; whilst full-back Luke Arscott is in line to play his 100th Premiership game.

Pictures: Exeter Rugby Club/Pinnacle Photo Agency