Steenson: Europe exit can ignite our Premiership bid

Fly-half Gareth Steenson reckons Exeter‘s agonising Champions Cup exit at the hands of Wasps will galvanise the Devon side’s Premiership title charge.
Having made history by reaching the quarter-finals for the first time, Chiefs were seconds away from victory before Charles Piutau’s last-gasp try for Wasps.
Jimmy Gopperth’s stunning conversion completed a Wasps comeback, but long-serving Steenson insists the 25-24 loss has hardened Exeter’s resolve.
He told The Rugby Paper: “It was a very sombre bus trip home but you move on quickly and when we reflected on it, we actually played very well.
“We made history by reaching that stage and we now have another chance of making history in the Premiership play-offs.
“You can look back on last week and say, ‘Yes, it’s very disappointing’, but the positive is knowing we can win big matches at this end of the season.
“The confidence we can take out of that is huge and, being realistic, going out of Europe potentially gives us a big advantage in the league.
“Having played Gloucester on Friday, we’ll have an opportunity to have a rest and our next game against Wasps is a week on Sunday.
“We haven’t had a break  since October, so we can re-energise before going into another big fixture.”
Steenson, below, believes Exeter’s burgeoning experience domestically and in Europe means they now have nothing to fear when they enter the play-offs.
He said: “We’ve beaten really good teams in Clermont, Bordeaux and Ospreys and the progression for us in Europe in future is to go away and win.
“In the Premiership, we know we’re a match for anyone and we’ve won big games home and away and played in front of 80,000 at Twickenham. It wouldn’t be daunting going there again and we’ve experienced knock-out rugby now.
“There’s a lot of work to be done to get there, but we’ll be better for these experiences and the Premiership’s a massive target for us now.”
With prop Brett Sturgess retiring at the end of the season, Steenson is one of a dwindling band of survivors from Chiefs’ Championship days. At 32, however, the Dungannon-born marksman is playing better than ever to the extent that England hopeful Henry Slade cannot get a look-in at No.10.
“I’m delighted with my season,” says Steenson. “Henry’s playing well in the centres – he’s a very talented guy who can play anywhere. It gives us good balance to have two kickers and it’s going very well for us.
“I’ve got another two years here and I’m all about trying to keep the club progressing. Hopefully, we’ll get a chance to do something special.”
NEALE HARVEY