Defending Aviva Premiership title will be a new challenge for Exeter - Gareth Steenson

Exeter skipper Gareth Steenson is looking forward to the upcoming season of Aviva Premiership as they bid to defend the title that they won in the previous edition.

After beating Saracens 18-16 in the semi-final, the Sandy Park outfit edged out Wasps 20-23 in the final of the 2016/17 season with Steenson playing a vital role kicking two penalties in the closing stages.

The new season will see the defending champions visiting Kingsholm to lock horns with Gloucester on 1st September in the opening game and Steenson said the players are up for the challenge.

"It's a completely brand new experience for us," said Steenson.

"We are probably not everyone's second favourite team any more, we are not the plucky underdog, which is a completely new thing.

"It's nice to come in and have a new challenge. The club has always been about progressing, and there is so much more the club can achieve and do.

"We haven't performed that well in Europe, which is something we will definitely talk about.

"And we want to establish ourselves as a top-four Premiership team. First and foremost, we want to make sure we are hitting those play-offs again.

"There is so much potential in the squad to continue to fight on all fronts, really, and it is something we will really look forward to."

In the previous season, Exeter had a shaky start before they regrouped to register a record winning streak with bonus points that saw them claim the second position in the table and a home semi-final.

"You have got to look at what last season was," Steenson added.

"For us, you take it from the (Premiership) final the season before against Saracens. We probably rolled into last season, and it was very evident that we weren't on the ball.

"We were probably still patting ourselves on the back on how well we had done.

"We had a meeting in October time, and righted a few wrongs. It was a good meeting.

"The danger of last season was that it could have been a nothing season for us, and it ended up being one of the greatest. It just showed the resolve we have in the group."