Why this could well be a battle of the best of the rest

EXETER have become something of a gold standard for English Rugby in recent years.

Sustainable growth from the lower leagues, Premiership Champions twice and would almost certainly have had three more but for the flouting of the salary cap by Saracens, and incompetent policing of same by the Premiership.

Last year they finished as European champions and again runners-up in the Premiership.

They have shown a remarkable ability to maintain their top position with shrewd recruitment and promotion from within, with enviable stability across the organisation.

Coach Rob Baxter would be a strong contender for the England job when it becomes available, but all indications are that he would rather stay with his club.

So, not the best opponents to start the new campaign for Leicester!

However, there is a good argument that this is probably the best time to play the West Country side.

Missing 11 players from their firstchoice 15 due to Lions rest periods and injury, the pre-season hasn’t gone well, with their only game, against Munster at home, ending 19–31 to the visitors.

To be fair, Leicester’s own pre-season hasn’t been too inspiring, with non-dominant wins against Championship side Jersey and the weakest Welsh region, the Dragons, finishing with a loss to another Welsh region, Scarlets, at Mattioli Woods Welford Road.

It’s difficult to argue that the Tigers would have fared any better against Munster than Exeter. But three games to shake off the rust has to be better than only one, however good the opposition, so there could be a suspicion that the visitors might be slightly underdone. Steve Borthwick has performed well so far, transforming two 11th-place finishes into a creditable mid-table position and qualification for the main European competition but he, and the fans, will want more and the pundits are tipping Leicester to challenge strongly for a top-four place in the play-offs.

To be frank, I’m not sure that Leicester have the resources to compete over the season with the clubs with moneybags behind them.

Sale, Bristol and Saracens all have money to burn, so perhaps top four becomes the aim for the best of the rest, and that could well include Exeter, as well as the Tigers.

As harsh as it may seem, if the expectations of advancement are to be met, the home game against Exeter, in the circumstances discussed, is one that needs to be won.

I’m not sure Leicester have the resources to compete over the season with the moneybags clubs