Discipline is key, says Sturge

By Mark Stevens

Exeter forward Brett Sturgess says the Chiefs must adopt a 'disciplined approach' when they face Cardiff Blues in their Heineken Cup opener at Sandy Park on Sunday (12.45pm).

As Australia found out during the British & Irish Lions tour Down Under this summer, allowing Blues' goalkicking ace Leigh Halfpenny repeated shots at the target can indeed prove fatal.

The 24-year-old back slotted 49 points during the three-game series, plundering a series of sublime efforts from all angles of the ground to sink the Wallabies.

And Sturgess says it is that threat, along with others posed by the Blues, that makes this weekend's encounter a testing opening for the Chiefs.

"They have got threats right across the board," warned Sturgess. "Obviously Halfpenny can kick points from anywhere, so we'll have to be disciplined, but they've also got the Lions' skipper [Sam Warburton] in their side; Gethin Jenkins up front and some real dangerous runners with the likes of Alex Cuthbert in the backs.

"It will be tough, of course it will, but you expect that at this level. There are no easy games in the Heineken Cup because the sides playing in the competition are the best in Europe. It's good that we are part of the competition again - and it's good that we're starting at home."

Buoyed by last week's impressive Aviva Premiership win at Gloucester, Sturgess says the Chiefs must use that display as the springboard for their latest exploits into Europe, where they will also face Glasgow Warriors and defending champions Toulon in Pool Two of the tournament.

"After the disappointment of the Leicester game, winning at Gloucester was the perfect response," said the loosehead prop. "We had shown in the second half against Leicester what we could do and we just built on that at Gloucester. Going up to Kingsholm is always a tough task, but we managed to produce a solid 80-minute performance and we came away with a great result."

A similar showing against the Blues would do nicely for the Chiefs, who last season showed they were more than capable of competing in Europe's top club competition as they battled it out with the likes of Leinster, Clermont Auvergne and Scarlets, the latter of whom they defeated both home and away.

"The Heineken Cup is a tough competition, yet in every game we played last season we gave a good account of ourselves," added Sturgess. "Looking back, I thought we were unlucky not to get a draw over in Dublin against Leinster; then in both games against Clermont there were periods where we were able to match them in a lot of areas. Obviously we got the two wins over the Scarlets as well, so all in all it was a prety good first year for us."

Now, though, the Chiefs will be looking to push on again amongst Europe's elite - and that mission starts with Sunday's lunchtime encounter at Sandy Park.

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