European semi-final shows Exeter progress - Baxter

Exeter's players have won double the number of Prem games already this season than they won in the whole of the last campaign [Shutterstock]

Exeter boss Rob Baxter says the prospect of Saturday's European Challenge Cup semi-final at Ulster is a measure of how far the club has progressed this season.

A year ago the Chiefs had just suffered a club-record 79-17 loss at Gloucester and dispensed with the services of long-serving coaches Rob Hunter and Ali Hepher.

It was the nadir of a campaign which saw them win just four league matches and also lose all of their European fixtures.

Now they are fourth in the Prem and have a European semi-final as they prepare for a key month of games.

"Now, it would feel really disappointing if we don't see something off or get to at least one big game," Baxter said.

"Getting this far and then slipping up and maybe not getting to the final of the European competition, or maybe dropping out of the top four so we don't get to a semi-final, it would actually feel quite disappointing now because we've got to where we are.

"But if you'd have flipped it around and someone said last season 'next season, you're going to be chasing these things now' everyone would have gone 'yeah, we'll take it and it's going to be brilliant and that'll be fine'; this shows you how sport is."

Australia centre Len Ikitau returned from four months out injured in Sunday's loss at Gloucester [Shutterstock]

Alongside coaching changes, Exeter brought in a number of experienced players over the summer.

The likes of Len Ikitau, Andrea Zambonin, Stephen Varney and Tom Hooper have added know-how to a group of talented young players like Greg Fisilau and Paul Brown-Bampoe.

For many of the Chiefs side it will be their first taste of a high-pressure knockout game - the club has not made the Prem play-offs in five years and or won a European knockout game in the past two seasons before the current campaign.