Sturgess targets European push

by Mark Stevens

Brett Sturgess says the desire for him and his team-mates to re-join Europe's elite is helping to drive the Exeter Chiefs forward on all fronts this season.

After an impressive start to the new Aviva Premiership season - one which sees Devon's finest currently positioned in third place - the Chiefs will this weekend switch their attentions away from domestic action to that of the new European Rugby Challenge Cup.

Having missed out on qualification for the new European Champions Cup last term, Rob Baxter's men will kick-off their latest overseas adventure at French Top14 side Bayonne this Saturday (8pm).

Back in the first-team mix again following a serious knee injury sustained last December against Harlequins at Twickenham, the 32-year-old forward will be part of the Exeter squad who travel across the Channel this weekend looking to start their European campaign with a bang.

“It’s a new competition for us,” Sturgess said. “It was disappointing for us at the end of last season, having been in the Heineken Cup for the past two years not to qualify again. We want to compete against the top sides, we want to see the big teams coming here, and so do the fans.

“In the past we’ve enjoyed going away as a team on our European trips. We get to spend an extended amount of time together and whilst there may be changes with some guys coming in to try and prove themselves, whoever gets to pull on a Chiefs jersey there will thoroughly enjoy it.”

Certainly the Chiefs will travel in bullish mood after an opening Premiership block that has seen them accrue four wins out of a possible six - and losing bonus points from the two games they did lose against Leicester Tigers and Newcastle Falcons.

The latest success story, however, came last Saturday when the Chiefs dispatched visiting London Irish 44-24 with an impressive five-try display that has positioned Exeter firmly within the division's top three.

Sturgess, who came off the bench against the Exiles, said the win was just the tonic the team needed after their narrow setback against the Falcons.

“You look at the Leicester game here, and we feel we could have got a result then, and away at Newcastle it was a matter of inches at the end with the line-out,” he said.

“The guys felt we did not really deserve that result at Newcastle but, here at Exeter, what we usually do is we get a reaction, we step up to the plate, and this weekend we’ve managed to get a five-point win against a team who have been playing really well.”

Just to be back out on the field is a highlight for Sturgess, who over the coming weeks could find himself coming up against two of his former clubs in Connacht (Europe) and Northampton Saints (Premiership).

“On a personal front, it has been a long and hard road to recovery,” Sturgess added. “I’ve been playing in the A League games and I finally got the call to be on the bench, and I thoroughly enjoyed it.

“At the end of the day, we’re professional rugby players and not professional trainers. You train to have the game at the end of the week, and, if you’re not having that when you’re injured, it’s hard.

“The guys in the 23 [match-day squad] have putting in the effort over the last six weeks, and the rest of the squad have been training hard in the background. It has been a really good squad effort.”