BATH director of rugby Todd Blackadder says there is still plenty of fear factor about a trip to take on Exeter Chiefs.

Exeter stormed to a maiden Aviva Premiership final last term, only to fall agonisingly short of the title at the hands of Saracens at Twickenham.

The Chiefs have found life tougher going this term and they have won just two of their opening six league fixtures and head into Sunday’s showdown on the back of two consecutive defeats in Europe.

However, Blackadder believes they are still a force to be reckoned with and it is by no means a given that Bath will come away from this weekend’s West Country derby with a fourth win on the bounce.

“I watched a lot of their games from last year and I can certainly see why they made it all the way to the final,” said Blackadder.

“They are a good team, they work hard for each other and they play a good brand of rugby; they play tough footy. I can see why they are the club that a lot of people fear.

“I wouldn’t say they’ve underperformed this year, I think they have been targeted a lot more. People are probably relishing the challenge of play against them because of how they got on last year.

“They are probably experiencing what it’s like to not be the underdogs anymore, they’re one of the top dogs now.

“Everyone here is pretty excited about the game. There’s always a bit more to it in these Gloucester, Bristol and Exeter games and we’re looking forward to getting down there.”

Blackadder gave the Bath squad a well-earned four-day break following last Thursday night’s 22-6 win at home to Bristol in the European Challenge Cup – the first competitive meeting between the local rivals in seven years.

After a bruising opening two months of the campaign, the New Zealander hopes the respite will help reinvigorate his troops ahead of another tough run.

“It was a really good night. It’s the first time in a number of years that we’ve played each other and although it wasn’t the greatest game in the world, it’s very good for us to come out on the right side of that,” said Blackadder.

“The Premiership has been going well for us but I don’t think our performances have been quite so good in Europe.

“We’re always looking to improve and there’s that saying about winning ugly, which I think is better than saying you always learn from a defeat. You still have to learn from a win and that’s what we’ve got to look to do.

“We’ve had a lot of injuries and these short weeks take their toll and we just felt like we needed a bit of a break. They’ve deserved it because they’ve been magnificent so far this year and I think it was the right thing to do.”