Hill takes it all in his stride

From plying his trade at the Cornish Pirates to preparing for a Heineken Cup clash with champions Toulon, Exeter Chiefs centre Sam Hill admits he's faced a baptism of fire over the last three months.

Hill's campaign last year - mixing LV= Cup appearances with action at Championship side Pirates - impressed Chiefs head coach Rob Baxter to such an extent that the 20-year-old has been thrust into the thick of the action.

Having made seven Aviva Premiership starts for Exeter, Hill also received the nod in the Heineken Cup defeat to Glasgow Warriors at Scotstoun in October. Now he has his sights set on an appearance at the Stade Mayol on Saturday but should he make it onto the field or not, Hill is relishing every minute.

"It's been very exciting for me, Toulon have some unbelievable players and it's a massive opportunity for us to test ourselves," he said. "I've been happy with the way the season's gone and I've not been expecting as much rugby as I've played so far this season - I'd thought I'd be going back to the Pirates.

"I've been getting games in both the Premiership and the Heineken Cup as well which was even less expected. It's given me a confidence boost playing with and against world class players, for the first couple of games I was nervous - and still am a little bit now to be fair - but I'm getting used to the physicality that I need to bring to these games."

Though the first of the Chiefs' double-header with Toulon may have ended in a narrow 14-9 defeat at Sandy Park on the weekend, Hill insists the camp are still in good spirits.

With his side finely poised in third place in Pool 2 Exeter may not be able to afford another loss - but Hill is adamant his side have shown they can mix it with the best.

"We've been in a good mood this week," he added. "It was disappointing not to get the best result but we're happy with the way we put ourselves out there against Toulon and we're working to understand how we can go one step further.

"After the match we were a bit down in the dressing room knowing how close we were but we're now looking back on it with confidence and believing it's small things we can improve upon to get a win.

"Things like finishing off tries when we get into their half of the pitch, we were pleased with our running rugby but we can't miss those chances. It's always our goal to play against the best and play well against those teams at the top, whether in the Premiership or Europe.

"They knew it was a tough place to come and play but I don't think they expected us to be that close to them the whole way through. But they are going to up their game and if we want to get a result them we are going to have to do the same.

"We're pleased overall and everyone's happy with how we've done so far in Europe, but these next set of games will see how it's going to go."