Dolly goes on the attack

By Mark Stevens

Welsh centre Phil Dollman says the Exeter Chiefs will look to attack from minute one when they entertain Worcester Warriors in the Aviva Premiership this Saturday (3pm).

Having returned to top flight action with a narrow loss at Bath, the versatile back is hoping a return to home comforts will help the Devon club end a run of three successive defeats.

Two of those were against the might of Leinster and Clermont Auvergne in the Heineken Cup, but last weekend Rob Baxter's side were made to pay for a sluggish at the Recreation Ground as Bath triumphed 23-15.

Exeter shipped two tries inside the opening 14 minutes against their Westcountry rivals, before prop Brett Sturgess countered with a score of his own to make it 15-5 at the break.

Although the Chiefs were much improved after the break, dominating both territory and possession, they were hit with a sucker punch from home skipper Francois Louw to leave them with too big a mountain to climb in the latter stages.

To their credit, Baxter's troops dug deep in the final throws of an absorbing contest, but although Ignacio Mieres added a converted try, it was all a little too late for the visitors.

Reflecting on the Bath game, Dollman said: "We were disappointed with the result, though we obviously tried our best and bust a gut to try and get something out of it at the end. We left ourselves with a bit too much to do in the second half, and Bath still had the quality to score another try to give us a tough, uphill climb.

"However, we played well after the break, we put them under pressure and we created opportunities, and it was just disappointing not to get a victory, let alone a bonus point."

Now Dollman and his fellow Chiefs hope to take their frustration of that display out on the visiting Midlanders, who warmed up for this game with a home victory over lowly Sale Sharks.

However, Dollman is well aware the Warriors will be no pushovers, particularly after they pushed the Chiefs close in both Premiership clashes last term. He said: "Worcester have improved a lot, and they have got a lot of quality in their squad, and they will provide top-notch opposition for us.

"We have got to attack them, like we try to do every game, from the off, and try and set them on the back foot, rather than being on the back foot ourselves."

It would be easy to blame Exeter's poor start at Bath on a hangover from the previous week's second-half drubbing by Clermont at Sandy Park, but Dollman felt that was not the reason for their slow start to the match.

"I wouldn't say there was a hangover from Clermont. I just think that maybe we weren't 100 per cent," said the 27-year-old Welshman. "You have got to be 100 per cent off the mark in these Premiership games, otherwise you will get stung.

"A couple of missed tackles and sides like Bath will punish you. It is something we have got to look at, with a crucial game against Worcester coming up, and we have got to be off the mark as fast and as hard as we can. We will look at it during this week and see where we can improve."

Tickets for Saturday's match are still available online by clicking here or will be available from the ticket office from 12 noon on match-day itself.