Alcott set for Scarlets riposte

By Mark Stevens

Exeter Chiefs may have toasted their first-ever victory in the Heineken Cup on Saturday night, but hooker Simon Alcott says he and his team-mates are already focusing their thoughts on this weekend's return clash against the Scarlets.

An early Haydn Thomas try, as well as 17 points from fly-half Gareth Steenson, proved sufficient enough for the Devon club to head home from their trip to Wales with a notable 22-16 success.

This Saturday, though, the two teams collide once again in European Rugby's top competition and Alcott is warning that this latest match-up will be just as tough, maybe even tougher, for the in-form Chiefs.

"Saturday was tough, but I think next week will be even tougher because no one ever wants to lose two games back-to-back," said the 29-year-old forward. "Again, we will just have to attack it and use this week to work on things which will hopefully get us another good result."

Exeter's latest victory in the Principality took their winning streak to six games in all competitions and Alcott says the mood within the home camp is buoyant ahead of a busy period of fixtures.

"Getting the away win up at London Irish was a big thing for us," he added. "As a team we always love playing at home, but sometimes you have to chuck in a few away wins as well if you want to be in top half of the league. Going into these two Cup games we're really enjoying things and that is often when you play your best rugby."

Alcott was one of six changes head coach Rob Baxter made to his starting line-up ahead of the weekend game at the Parc Y Scarlets. The all-action hooker was joined in the front-row by prop Hoani Tui, whilst former Scarlets star Damian Welch and England international Tom Johnson were also drafted into the visiting pack. Behind, international stars Sireli Naqelevuki and Gonzalo Camacho were also given their chance to shine.

Certainly all six players played their part in a battling display from the Chiefs who, despite having Ben Moon yellow-carded in the second period, were able to withstand some late pressure from the Scarlets to ensure victory.

"We were hanging on a bit at the end," conceded Alcott. "We we weren't quite as clinical as we would have liked in that last 20 minutes, but the rest of the game was pretty good from our perspective. We got off to a great start, Steeno was kicking everything from everywhere, and the boys put in a great stint.

"As I said, it was a good win not just for the club, but it was great for the fans that came to watch as well. Getting this win was something we targeted as one of our ambitions this season - and I thought we showed a lot of endeavour and a lot of fight, and we got the right result in the end."

Tickets for Saturday's game are currently available either online by clicking here or through the Trading Post, which is open Monday to Friday from 10am to 4pm.