Chiefs side to face Glasgow

The Sharks cut that deficit with a converted score of their own on the hour mark, but Dave Rennie’s side were able to hold firm in the final quarter and hold out for a gutsy four points.

Now, the Scotsmen will fly south looking to inflict further woe on another of the Gallagher Premiership’s leading lights, who in four previous meetings they have defeated three times.

Hunter is understandably aware of the threat posed by the Warriors, but insisted the prime focus for the Chiefs this week has been more on themselves, rather than their opponents.

“I think we’re all pretty excited about the weekend and Glasgow coming to town,” said Hunter. “We’ve had some mixed results against them over the years – and they’ll be coming down on a bit of a high having won last weekend. That said, our focus this week has been on ourselves and looking to build on what we did last weekend.

“From our point of view, that was a great European result for us. To get five points, away from home, against a major competitor, that’s huge. However, it won’t mean anything if we don’t turn up and perform like that again this week.

“Yes, we had a moment to celebrate that win [against La Rochelle], but we knew we had to move on quickly for Glasgow. I wouldn’t say it’s knock-out rugby as such, but it’s very pressured rugby, and you need to keep your form going. Ask anyone who knows this competition, you don’t tend to get too many second chances.

“Last week was a blistering start for us and the lads were fantastic. A lot of what we put onto the pitch we did very well, but we also made some errors which, thankfully, we were able to bounce through and see off. We need to be like that again this weekend.”

Tomorrow’s game marks a swift catch-up for summer signing Stuart Hogg, who swapped life with the Warriors for a new start here in Devon.

Hunter acknowledges it will be a big occasion for the Scottish international, but is backing the gifted full-back to build on what has been an encouraging start to life with the Chiefs.

“It’s an important game for Stuart, so as a group we have to focus on making sure it all goes well for him. That said, he’s settled in very well for us and you can see already what he brings to the team. When you get someone like him running with the ball, it not only creates chances for himself, but it also opens up space for others.

“Already guys like Tom {O’Flaherty] are really starting to shine because he’s creating space and openings for him to exploit. It’s the same in the pack, if you have two or three big ball-carriers, then teams can’t just double up on that one ball-carrier you have. You saw that last week, guys like Dave, Jacques and Sam, they were all make big carries and creating space for one another.”

Not surprisingly, Director of Rugby Rob Baxter hasn’t bothered to tinker too much with his winning formula, making just one change in personnel to his starting line-up. Into the side comes England ace Jack Nowell in place of Welshman Alex Cuthbert.

On the bench, Sam Hill fills the void left by Nowell’s promotion.