Jess praises team's character

 

Wing Matt Jess has hailed the character his Exeter Chiefs side have showed this season

After helping his side continue their 100 per cent Aviva Premiership record at Sandy Park, Exeter Chiefs wing Matt Jess admits the aim is now to sort out their away form.

Their home scalps have so far included 2012 Aviva Premiership champions Harlequins and second-placed Saracens, who lie just one point behind Conor O'Shea's Quins ahead of a break for the Heineken Cup.

But on their last away outing the Chiefs secured their first win of the season on the road - a 27-23 win over London Irish at the Madejski Stadium.

And Jess, who has played every minute of all ten Aviva Premiership games so far this season, believes that first away victory could kick-start their campaign.

"We haven't sat down and talked about winning our home games, it's almost a given that the players want to win in front of the home support," said the 28-year-old. "We don't have to beat the drum about our home form - the focus is now on winning more away games. The win over Irish gives us confidence that we can go away from home and put in a good performance. We are happy with that win, but there are still things to improve on.

"We can now back ourselves away from home a little bit more. We know we have the desire and ambition to win away, we just need to keep that home record going too."

Rob Baxter's men have now won three on the bounce, and after beating London Wasps 30-23 last Saturday, they sit just five points off the Aviva Premiership summit.

And Jess insists that securing a fifth home victory against Dai Young's Wasps side revealed the battling qualities that the Chiefs possess.

"It was great to get the win over Wasps last weekend, we have been playing well - we dominated the last 20 or 30 minutes and pushed hard for the win," he added. "There is a real character in the team and we endeavour to grind out wins which you really need to do, especially as the league is so tough at the moment.

"We have real quality in our team, a good blend of experience and youth, and hopefully we can keep getting those wins. Against London Irish I had a hand in both our tries so from a personal point of view I feel like I'm doing ok. But it's all about continuing to get wins under our belts, and if we can keep doing that we know we will be there or thereabouts at the end of the season."