Rob Baxter's coded warning for Sale Sharks

Sale Sharks have been warned that trips to the AJ Bell Stadium bring out the best in Exeter Chiefs as the English rivals step-up their pursuit of a Heineken Champions Cup quarter-final.

The Gallagher Premiership title contenders clash on Sunday with the Chiefs travelling north as the nation’s standard bearers in the competition after posting bonus-point wins against La Rochelle and Glasgow.

Sale lost their Pool Two opener against the Warriors but will be confident of putting a dent in Exeter’s knockout ambitions – despite the Chiefs’ director of rugby Rob Baxter sounding a note of defiance.

“It’s often a place that brings the best out of us. We’ve had some tough games up there, ones that we’ve won and others that we’ve lost,” Baxter said.

“But when I think of those games that we’ve won, a lot of our success has come from the attitude and the desire – particularly in defence – that we’ve been able to show.

“Sale are a good, attacking side and they have an ability to come at you in a variety of different ways.

“They can score tries which a lot of other teams cannot do, so it’s going to be down to us to make sure we have our defensive systems in place from the off.

“It’ll be a great challenge, as it always is when you go to Sale, but we’ve been there before and we’ve won there before.

“With the excitement of it being a Heineken Cup game, I’d like to see us go there and put in one of those big Exeter Chiefs-type performances.”

Even in round three Gloucester’s showdown with Connacht has the look of a dead rubber, while Pool Five’s other two teams Toulouse and Montpellier battle it out for top spot.

- Press Association

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