Opposition view: Exeter will 'stay hungry' after win against Saints

The Chiefs overwhelmed Saints with an astonishing 54 points in 48 minutes to win 57-7 at Sandy Park on Sunday afternoon.

It was all the more incredible as Saints went to Sandy Park knowing that a win would put them top of the table.

But tries from Jonny Hill, Elvis Taione, Jannes Kirsten, Tom Hendrickson (2), Ben Moon, Tom O'Flaherty and Sam Simmonds, along with a penalty and five conversions from fly-half Joe Simmonds and two conversions by his replacement Gareth Steenson, sent Chris Boyd's side crashing to defeat.

The black, green and gold's only consolation was they were not whitewashed as fly-half James Grayson crossed for a second-half try that he converted himself.

It puts Exeter eight points clear of second-placed Sale Sharks, and the journey continues this week with a trip to Harlequins, who lost to Bath on Saturday.

Hepher said: "That is a massive game. They will be hungry after Saturday and we have got to make sure we are in the right frame of mind.

"There is another four or five points up for grabs and we have to have an appetite to go after them.

"That is the secret for us going forward. We have to make sure we stay hungry."

Hepher explained: "We don't want to take our foot off the pedal.

"There is plenty to improve on from Sunday and we will do that on Tuesday morning and get on with it."

The first half-hour was turgid with one Simmonds penalty dividing the teams and Hepher added: "We were disappointed with the early part of the game. They are a good side and are high in the league for a reason.

"We were a bit slow in the way we played the game. We wanted to up the tempo and speed of the game.

"Equally, there was a lot of good stuff in the second half and the guys fought relentlessly for the points."