Clermont fortress awaits Chiefs
Clermont Auvergne will be targeting a remarkable 54th straight win at "Fortress" Stade Marcel Michelin when they clash with Exeter Chiefs on Saturday evening.
Coach Vern Cotter's unbeaten Pool Five pacesetters made it 53 home wins on the trot when they beat Montpellier 36-18 in last weekend's Top 14.
But in this season's European tournament they have proved they are anything but simply home performers with a 46-12 romp against the Chiefs at Sandy Park and a crucial 28-21 victory over defending champions Leinster at the Aviva Stadium.
However, head coach Rob Baxter believes the size of the challenge will only bring out the best from his Chiefs and that they have relished their previous away French tests in the Challenge Cup.
"It's a fantastic challenge," he said. "Big parts of Clermont's game are very good and they've got an exceptional squad. It's a nice test and one we will look forward to and we will enjoy our time away together.
"If there's anywhere that's a real test to go it is to Clermont – it is 53 games on the bounce they've won at home now. It's just the environment you want to go into if you want to test yourself.
"The atmosphere and the challenges have seemed to bring the best out of us a number of times but this is the toughest of all of them.
"We manage to make them one-off games. We don't see it as a part of the season we have to get on with, we really go for them and enjoy them.
"We talk a lot about maximising the experience, both as a team and as an individual player. That's served us very well," he added.
