Exeter's Gareth Steenson targets Grand Final win

After being beaten by Saracens in last year's end-of-season showpiece, Chiefs skipper Steenson admits the feeling is different this time around.

"Last year's final, we probably took 25 minutes to get into the game," Steenson said. "Thankfully, we have got that experience under our belt now.

"We feel we are playing well, which is a great thing going into a final. If you don't turn up, you are going to be in trouble.

"It is a different feeling to last year. After the semi-final this year (against Saracens), as soon as we got back to the changing room, it was almost like a feeling of the job being only half done.

"We know very much what we want to achieve this year. We want to win the thing."

Exeter are unbeaten in the Premiership since late October, reeling off eight successive bonus point victories to finish second in the table behind Wasps, while also ending Saracens' hopes of a back-to-back European and domestic trophy double.

"We are feeling in a good place - we have been going very well," fly-half Steenson added.

"Our game is definitely in good shape, and hopefully with the experience we gained of playing in the final last year, we can bring it and use it to our advantage and maximise the full 80 minutes.

"It (the final) is huge. It is what we want to achieve. We want to be in finals, winning finals, and this is the biggest one you can get in our competition.

"It is very exciting for us. We just want to make sure we perform and put our best game out there. The last thing you want to do is go there and not do yourself justice."

Exeter head coach Rob Baxter has masterminded a relentless winning run on the domestic stage over the past seven months, and silverware on Saturday would see the Chiefs become the eighth Premiership title-winning club after Newcastle, Leicester, Wasps, Sale, Saracens, Harlequins and Northampton.

Baxter said: "As with most games in the Premiership, it is about who turns up in the right frame of mind, who turns up and is prepared to give as much to the game as is needed to win.

"Wasps aren't there by chance. They have had a very good season, they have beaten some very good teams to get there, they've had to come through some emotional battles as well.

"It is going to be a fantastic challenge for us, but that is what finals should be about. The key for me is we go out there and perform at the level we can as a club.

"We have done a lot of very good preparation work, and we have got to make sure we leave the semi-final behind. It was won in such a manner, it was that good a game and was such a thriller for everyone who was there, sometimes it gets hard to leave it behind.

"It is Wednesday now, and people are still wanting to talk about last weekend. You have got to move on. It's not about the semi-final any more, it's about the final."

The game is set to be an 82,000 sell-out and the first major sporting event held in Britain since Monday's Manchester Arena bombing.

"Everyone is horrified by what happened in Manchester," Baxter added.

"You watch the scenes on television, and there is an emotional effect to it.

"Most of what's happening is completely out of our hands. Our preparation will be the same, on arriving at the hotel, leaving the hotel and travelling to the ground. The RFU (Rugby Football Union) are already putting things into place that they want to put in place.

"Everyone is going to be on high alert now at all these events. Everyone will be a little bit extra vigilant, as we should be."