Steeno looks to gain an edge

By Nick Warren

Gareth Steenson says Exeter Chiefs can get a mental edge over Glasgow Warriors ahead of their Heineken Cup battles – if they win tomorrow's pre-season match (3pm).

Gregor Townsend brings his Warriors side to Sandy Park this weekend for the Chiefs' final warm-up game ahead of the start of the Premiership campaign.

While fly-half Steenson knows a lot could change between now and October when they meet in European combat, he thinks a win on Saturday would give Exeter an advantage when they face each other again.

The outing against Glasgow is Exeter's third game this month, having beaten the Scarlets and Bristol already as they aim to be firing on all cylinders for the trip to Northampton Saints

Steenson said: "The good thing about the last couple of weeks is that we've got two wins, which gives us a bit of momentum.

"That's especially important playing against Glasgow, who are a Heineken Cup side as well and a team we've got in our group. That adds a bit of taste to it.

"There's going to be a lot of rugby played before those Heineken Cup games are played, their style may change and conditions may change as well. It will be nice to put one over on them, there would be a mental edge there.

"It would be great to get a result against them but it's still a pre-season game and we've got to make sure we get ourselves right for the following week more importantly."

After their 23-15 away win against the Scarlets, the Chiefs put 51 points on Bristol last weekend as they won at a canter.

Steenson said the way they played against the Championship outfit, moving the ball wide quickly and playing at a high tempo, was how they wanted to play in the Premiership this term.

"We want to try to make ourselves better, we've got very high expectations of ourselves in training," he said. "The skill levels are definitely being pushed. We want to play an attractive brand of rugby, there's no secret about that. We're trying to play with a lot of pace and attacking the spaces that are given to us.

"We've got to understand we've got to change our game plan each week according to the opposition and the weather conditions. We're working hard at that and this is another opportunity this weekend."

Steenson did not play last weekend as head coach Rob Baxter handed Henry Slade and Ceri Sweeney a chance to show what they can do at fly-half. But the Irishman returns to the starting line-up against Glasgow and he is hoping to play well as he insists he is not assured of wearing the number ten jersey against Northampton.

"Everybody's fighting hard and every fellow here wants to get as many minutes under their belts as possible in pre-season games," he said. "Everyone's putting their hands up, there's been some great performances by everybody. That's great for the club, it only pushes you on further, and nobody is guaranteed their starting spot here – if you don't perform well you're not going to play the following week, it's as simple as that. It was that way last year and that's the way it's got to be if you want to improve."