Aviva Premiership side Exeter Chiefs have confirmed today that they have arranged a pre-season fixture with Connacht Rugby.
The fixture, to be played at their home ground Sandy Park, Exeter on Saturday August 11th (time TBD), is a reversal of last season's warm up in which Connacht hosted the Chiefs in Dubarry Park. A very strong Chiefs side convincingly beat a much weakened and changed Connacht squad by 10 - 47.
The Chiefs backed up their impressive promotion to the Premiership for season 2010-11 with an even more impressive 2011-12 season. They finished fifth in the league, narrowly missing out on a playoff spot for the Premiership final but more importantly securing a first ever Heineken Cup slot for this ambitous club. In only their second season of European competition they also won through to the Amlin Cup Quarter Finals winning a group containing Perpignan (USAP) and Newport Gwent Dragons, narrowly losing out on a Semi-final slot away to Stade Francais in Paris.
They are a club built around the traditional West Country values of big powerful scrummaging pack, but they also contain a lot of guile in their backs so they will provide ample test for Eric Elwoods charges as they prepare for a season in which they will look to achieve further progress in both RaboDirect Pro12 and Heineken Cup competitions.
For those thinking about visiting Sandy Park for the fixture see -
http://www.exeterchiefs.co.uk/visiting-sandy-park
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