Chiefs set to consolidate at the top
Seven wins from seven games, plus the collection of three bonus points, has seen the Devon side open up a handsome lead at the league's summit.
Chiefs coach Rob Baxter will be looking for another positive performance from his squad this weekend, and he feels he will have no problem motivating his side who are determined to show there is plenty more to come.
"A couple of the guys have said in meetings this week that we haven't really hit our straps at home yet," Baxter revealed.
"I'd agree with that to a degree and I think their attitude about what they want to achieve at home, and the type of rugby they want to play, is fantastic. That said, there are going to be some tough conditions: it looks as though it is going to be a wet and windy day, and that will be a fresh challenge in itself."
Baxter will continue his policy of rotating his players to keep his squad fresh for the season's duration.
Despite an impressive 21-51 win at Birmingham and Solihull last weekend, Brett Sturgess, Neil Clark, Chris Budgen all come into the front row, while Rich Baxter regains his place at No.8.
Elsewhere, backs Matt Cornwell, Phil Dollman, Mark Foster, Matt Jess and Emyr Lewis are also recalled to the Chiefs' 22-man squad.
Promising young full-back Josh Matavesi retains his place after scoring his second try of the season in only his third appearance.
Bryan Rennie, Nic Sestaret and Tom Bedford miss out after being forced to leave the field last weekend through injury whilst James Scaysbrook picked up a knock in training and also sits this one out.
This weekend's clash will be followed by a run of games against three teams with similar promotion aspirations to the Chiefs, and Baxter thinks he will have a real feel for how successful the season could be at the end of this sequence.
Consecutive away games against Bedford and Nottingham, to be followed by a home game against the Cornish Pirates, will pit the Chiefs against the sides that currently occupy the second, fourth and fifth positions in the division.
"The next month has a lot of challenges in it," he explained. "By the end of it we'll have played everybody.
"If we get through those games in a positive fashion, we can look forward to the second round of games knowing a lot of it is in our own hands," added Baxter, who also revealed that his rotation policy will hopefully pay off in a big way as the difficult matches start to come thick and fast for his team.
"We are very aware this month will be tough for us," said Baxter. "So to have as many players fit to go into this month as possible was key for us.
"We managed to rest guys last week who had a lot of game minutes and it didn't overly affect the team performance. That's fantastic in a lot of ways, it means we have players fresh who are in form at the minute and it also means we've got guys who were injured up to speed."
Exeter Chiefs: (from) S Alcott, R Baxter, C Bentley, C Budgen, N Clark, T Hayes, T Johnson, A Miller, B Moon, R Murphy, C Slade, B Sturgess, S Tomes, R Bolt, M Cornwell, P Dollman, M Foster, D Gray, M Jess, E Lewis, J Matavesi, P McKenzie, G Steenson, H Thomas
Brett Sturgess comes back into the Exeter's pack for tomorrow's clash with Rotherham Titans at Sandy Park
