Sweeney wants home semi-final

By Mark Stevens

Ceri Sweeney insists the Exeter Chiefs can ill afford to drop their standards as they look to secure themselves a home semi-final in this season’s LV= Cup.

Having already booked their last four spot with last weekend’s 37-32 win over the Newport-Gwent Dragons, the defending champions head to Saracens this Sunday (3pm) determined to maintain their unblemished record in the competition.

Premiership rivals Gloucester and Bath were both accounted for at Sandy Park in the opening two rounds, before Rob Baxter’s side more recently saw off the threat of the Dragons at Rodney Parade.

Former Welsh international Sweeney slotted 12 points against his former club, whilst Adam Hughes – another ex-Dragon – claimed the first of five tries for the visitors on the day, the others coming courtesy of Fetu’u Vainikolo, Tom James, Sam Skinner and a Penalty Try.

But whilst qualification into the semi-finals has already been guaranteed for the Chiefs, fly-half Sweeney insists there is still plenty for him and his team-mates to play for at Allianz Park.

“It’ll be a tough game up there, especially as Saracens have a big squad, which is full of quality players,” warned the 35-year-old. “However, we know if we can get a result against them, it will guarantee us a home semi-final.

“We’ve done a great job so far to qualify for the last four, but there is a real desire within the group to not only get that home semi-final, but at the same time do our best to defend the trophy as well.”

With Baxter using last week’s game as an opportunity to full utilise his first team squad, Sweeney said the fixture offered the perfect opening for those on duty to remind the Chiefs’ coach of their proven talents.

“If you look at the side we put out, there were quite a few boys who haven’t played a great deal of rugby over the last few weeks,” added Sweeney. “But I thought we pulled together very well to get what was another big result for us.

“The conditions weren’t ideal, especially with the wind, but the mix of experience and youth in the side worked really well.”

Exeter’s forward dominance, particularly in the set-piece, provided the visitors not only with the ideal attacking platform, but also a string of penalties that Sweeney was able to dispatch without too much issue.

“We knew the Dragons would come with a big driving game and they scored a couple of tries from that,” continued Sweeney. “But we felt we had a real edge up front, especially in the scrums, and I think that told in the end.

“The penalty try towards the end was just reward for what the pack had been doing all game, but there were other areas of our game that were really positive as well and it’s important we build on those areas again this week.

“Although we changed the side up from the previous week, no one dropped their standards, and everybody stood up to the challenge. Against Saracens we have to do the same again, if not more, because we know they’ll be up for the fight.

“Obviously the incentive for us is that if we can win we’ll be at home in the semi-finals, but it’s also important to keep building momentum week by week and producing performances that we can keep moving forward with.”