BEN Coen will make a first-ever start for Exeter Chiefs when they play host to Sale Sharks in the quarter-final of the Premiership Rugby Cup at Sandy Park tomorrow (3pm).

The highly-rated fly-half has been named as part of a powerful Chiefs line-up, which has been bolstered with the inclusion of Welsh internationals Dafydd Jenkins and Christ Tshiunza during the fallow week of the current Six Nations Championship.

Coen, 20, has been in impressive form of late, featuring prominently for the England Under-20s, but this will be his first opportunity to shine at senior level, teaming up alongside the experienced Stu Townsend at half-backs.

Elsewhere, club captain Jack Yeandle is set to make his 300th appearance for the Devon club, who will be looking for a much-improved performance from that which they produced against Gloucester last time out, where they lost their 100 per cent record in the competition with a 22-14 defeat.

“This knockout match is very important for us,” said Baxter. “There are some good sides left in this competition – Sale being one of them. They’re doing well in the Premiership and they’ll likely come here with an expectation to win.

“We’re going to have to enjoy being a team that goes out on the hunt. I think we’ve probably fallen into the trap of playing as if we’re the hunted team and if opposition knock us off our stride, then we look like we struggle to get back on track.

“The reality is we should be going out there desperate to win games, no different to how we were when we first came into the Premiership where every victory was incredible and was worked incredibly hard for. We need to win this game because we need to keep moving forward as a team.”

Exeter Chiefs: Tom Wyatt; Paul Brown-Bampoe, Joe Hawkins, Tamati Tua, Josh Hodge; Ben Coen, Stu Townsend; Scott Sio, Jack Yeandle (capt), Josh Iosefa-Scott; Dafydd Jenkins, Christ Tshiunza; Ethan Roots, Jacques Vermeulen, Greg Fisilau. Replacements: Dan Frost, Kwenso Blose, Marcus Street, Franco Molina, Richard Capstick, Tom Cairns, Will Haydon-Wood, Will Rigg