Hooker Neil Clark feels Exeter will not throw away their chance to escape the Championship against his old side Bristol. Paul Rees writes in The Guardian.
"Getting back into the Guinness Premiership for a relegated club used to be a relatively straightforward matter: bank your parachute payment of some £4m, maintain a full-time squad with a far greater budget than that of your rivals, top the First Division at a canter and rejoin the big boys after a sabbatical.
"Bristol's route back since last season's relegation has been longer and more twisted. Finishing at the head of the Championship, as the second tier has now been renamed, was only the start of it: six play-off group matches were followed by a semi-final against London Welsh and tomorrow night they face Exeter at Sandy Park in the first leg of a final that will be concluded at the Memorial Stadium a week tomorrow.
"This season's Championship contained clubs who, in a previous generation, were marquee names: Coventry, London Welsh, Bedford, Moseley and Bristol, while Rotherham had two seasons in the Premiership in the 2000s. Exeter, though, are among the arrivistes and their ground will host its largest attendance, a 10,000 sell-out, as the South-west looks to broaden the geography of the Premiership."
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