Conquer Europe to maintain ‘fantastic journey’

Exeter will aim to conquer Europe today in the latest stage of what Chiefs boss Rob Baxter describes as “a fantastic journey”.

Eleven years to the day since Exeter beat Birmingham and Solihull in a low- key Championship game at Sharmans Cross Road, they will contest European club rugby’s biggest prize in front of an anticipated global TV audience of six to seven million.

Standing between them and the Heineken Champions Cup in Exeter’s first European final are French challengers Racing 92.

It will all unfold behind closed doors at Ashton Gate in Bristol, with Baxter’ s men aiming to follow Bath, Northampton, Leicester, Wasps and Saracens as English European champions.

A Chiefs win would maintain their domestic and European trophy double hopes ahead of the Gallagher Premiership final against Wasps.

“It feels a fantastic journey and it has been great, but the important things are what we do every day, every week and every month ,” Baxter said.

“That’s what we have got right as a club and there is a huge group of people who have had a massive involvement.

“Hopefully, if we can fast-forward six months and we have got full stadiums and you can walk through the lobby at Sandy Park and the Heineken Cup is there in the cabinet, it elevates everything else you can do moving forward.”

England wing Jack Nowell has recovered from a foot injury that saw him miss the Premiership play- off win over Bath and starts in an Exeter team showing one change from their European semi-final win against Toulouse, flanker Jacques Vermeulen in for Sam Skinner, who is on the bench.