Chudley primed for Big Game 6

By Mark Stevens

Will Chudley says he and his Exeter Chiefs team-mates are relishing this weekend's crunch Big Game 6 encounter with Harlequins at a packed Twickenham Stadium.

With just a point and a place separating Harlequins in fourth and the fifth-placed Chiefs in the current Aviva Premiership standings, the talented scrum-half knows the importance of a big display at English Rugby HQ this weekend.

"It should be a fantastic occasion," said Chudley, who was part of the Exeter side that returned to winning ways last weekend with a 16-3 win over former club Newcastle Falcons. "For a lot of the lads this will probably be the biggest crowd that they have played in front of, but as players it's exciting and something we should really relish.

"Over the years we've had some really good games with Harlequins and I don't expect anything less this time. Just looking at their squad they have some lightning outside backs, their forwards like to offload, and in Nick Evans and Danny Care they have two very good half-backs.

"They are a bit like us in some ways, they like to play positive, attacking rugby, so it should be a great game of rugby for all those that come along."

But whilst Chudley recognises the threat posed by Conor O'Shea's side, he is also quick to pinpoint the menace that exists within the Exeter camp. Indeed, the past three encounters between the two clubs have resulted in victories for Devon's finest, including a 19-5 triumph last month in the LV= Cup at Sandy Park.

"Rugby is all about momentum," added Chudley. "We picked up a win last week against Newcastle and if we can get another one this weekend, it will certainly put us in good stead for the New Year. Getting into that top four is definitely a huge incentive for us, but we know it is tight at the top and that games like this weekend are vital."

That said, the Chiefs have shown in recent seasons that they can cope with the big-match occasions, tackling the likes of European heavyweights Leinster, Clermont Auvergne and RC Toulon and putting in notable displays.

"We've done well in those games and against some of the best players in the world," continued Chudley. "As I said, we're all looking forward to the game, it should be really exciting, but it will also be good to see how we do react again in front of a big crowd like that. Personally, I think we will relish it and we will thrive in that environment, but we know we have to be on top of our game if we are to get anything from it."