Aviva Premiership: Exeter odds-on to break Leicester's record run
Exeter will begin their Aviva Premiership title defence on Friday - and they could do it in record-breaking fashion.
The Chiefs, who are 4/1 shots with Sky Bet to retain their title, face Gloucester at Kingsholm, where a win or draw would see them eclipse Leicester's run of 17 unbeaten Premiership games set between 1999 and 2000.
Exeter have not lost in the league since Semesa Rokoduguni's injury time try gave Bath victory at Sandy Park 305 days ago, an imperious run that took Rob Baxter's team all the way to Twickenham before they stung Wasps to claim a maiden Premiership title triumph.
The hard work now begins again, though, and rugby director Baxter wants his players to embrace the tag of champions.
"The one thing we've talked about this week is about taking the pressure off ourselves a little bit," he said.
"One of the most important qualities we've shown as a side over the years is that we really enjoy what we do.
"That means to enjoy certain things, you have to set some pretty good standards. You have to be willing to work hard and give games a lot of physical and emotional energy.
"I want to talk about us going up there (Gloucester) to celebrate some good things. We are not going to be a team that's scared of losing a game or scared of what people will say if we don't win just because we were the champions last year - that's not what it is about for me.
"Instead, I want us to go up there, get ourselves into the game and see what playing in the Premiership is like when you are currently the top team in England.
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"The important thing is that in terms of our performance, we have to at least match where we were last year, although in reality we must look to move our levels of performance on again.
"Other teams will be doing that, so we have to do that as well. The challenge isn't necessarily that we are champions, the challenge is we have to be prepared to work just as hard - if not harder - than last year.
"We worked extremely hard to win the Premiership. Now, if you want to win the Premiership again, you have to want to deal with the seasons that follow it.
"Some of our players will thrive on that, some of them will take a little while to get used to it. However, I am sure that over the course of the season, we will come through very strongly again."
Gloucester, meanwhile, go into battle under the guidance of new head coach Johan Ackermann, who arrived in the west country earlier this month after leading the Johannesburg-based Lions to the Super Rugby final four weeks ago.
And Gloucester (13/8) host the Chiefs (4/9) without a number of key personnel, including injured trio Tom Marshall, Charlie Sharples and Owen Williams.
Newcastle are odds-on to make a winning start against Worcester (2/1) at Kingston Park on Friday, with the Falcons looking to build on last season's highest Premiership finish for 11 years.
"The feeling in the camp is great and everyone has rightly talked about that, but we've still got to go out there and deliver," Falcons rugby director Dean Richards said.
"The season lasts for nearly 40 weeks, so we are not going to get overly-emotional about the first few games.
"We know they are important and we are throwing everything at this first block, but it's the long term that concerns us and how we end up doing over the course of the season.
"Worcester and Sale first-up are games where we need to be at our best, but games which are achievable."
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