Exeter Chiefs side to face Gloucester

Ricky Pellow expects to see a real hunger amongst his Exeter Chiefs side as they look to kick off the defence of their LV= Cup crown with victory over Gloucester tomorrow (3pm).

In what was a memorable campaign for the Devon club last season, the Chiefs collected their first piece of major silverware when they sunk Northampton Saints 15-8 at their own Sandy Park home back in March.

This weekend, however, it all begins again for the Chiefs and Pellow, who has again been entrusted as head coach for the competition.

As has become the norm in recent years for the club, youth will again get it's chance to shine in the Anglo-Welsh competition. Although the Chiefs will be supplemented by an experienced backbone that includes the likes of James Scaysbrook, Brett Sturgess, Luke Cowan-Dickie, Ceri Sweeney and skipper Dean Mumm.

Aussie international Mumm, along with Cowan-Dickie, are poised to make their first starts of the season as they return to action after long-term injuries. The inclusion of both is a major boost to head coach Rob Baxter with the return to Aviva Premiership action just a fortnight away.

For both players it's a big opportunity to again showcase their credentials, although Pellow insists right across the board he has a squad of players desperate to go out and underline their own worth.

"We always talk about attacking each week and attacking every competition we are in," said Pellow. "For us, this block is hugely important in terms of the season and we have increased the intensity in training again this week.

"Obviously we will use the European and LV games to look at players and to try new things, but there is a real hunger within the squad to go out and attack this competition and put ourselves in a good position to attack the latter stages of the competition."

Previous years in the LV= Cup have certainly underlined that very point and Pellow highlights the strides made by the likes of Henry Slade, Sam Hill, Dave Ewers, Jack Nowell and Cowan-Dickie as how important the competition is to the club.

"The LV is a great development tool for us," added Pellow. "If you look at the last two or three years, Henry, Dave, Sam, Jack and Luke, they've all been blooded in this competition and now a few of them have spent this week away in an England camp.

"Each year we use the competition for the tool it is - and that's to bring in new Academy players, like Sam Simmonds, Sam Skinner, Max Bodilly and Stuart Townsend and blood them in a really competitive environment. Having that sprinkle of senior guys alongside them, as well as those coming back from injury, it all makes for a really good mix for us."

But as Pellow well knows, Gloucester will be no pushovers and he is predicting a stiff examination for the Chiefs in their opening fixture of their title defence.

Pellow continued: "Each week they are gaining momentum in terms of their performances. Obviously they had a lot of change during the summer, especially on the coaching side, but we know they'll be a dangerous outift.

"Gloucester teams traditionally have a very physical pack, they're nine and ten are real livewires, so we need to be vigilant around the breakdown because they like to play off turnovers and play on the break. The fact it's also a local derby means it's an important game for both sides, so hopefully we can produce a similar display to that of last week and previous weeks."

With just one defeat on home soil this season - that to Leicester Tigers back in September - Pellow wants his Chiefs to maintain their strong Sandy Park showing again tomorrow.

"We need to build on the momentum we've gained over the last few weeks," added Pellow. "The level have been going up week by week, so even though it's a change of competition, the players can't afford to let that level drop. Instead it has to go up another notch again and we have to take our performance and the club onto the next level."

CHIEFS SIDE TO FACE GLOUCESTER

15 Jack Arnott
14 Fetu'u Vainikolo
13 Max Bodilly
12 Adam Hughes
11 Tom James
10 Ceri Sweeney
9 Dave Lewis
1 Brett Sturgess
2 Luke Cowan-Dickie
3 Alex Brown
4 Dean Mumm (capt)
5 Jerry Sexton
6 James Scaysbrook
7 Sam Simmonds
8 Sam Skinnner

16 Greg Bateman
17 Carl Rimmer
18 Jack Stanley
19 Will Carrick-Smith
20 Joel Conlon
21 Stuart Townsend
22 Laurence May
23 Tom Hendrickson