FLY-HALF Gareth Steenson knows all about playing in Westcountry derbies involving Exeter Chiefs and Cornish Pirates.

Saturday's eagerly-awaited match at Sandy Park will be the fifth one the Irishman has been involved in – and he has savoured the experience from both sides of the fence.

Three times he has been on the winning side – once with the Pirates in October 2007, and twice with his current club Exeter – and it is a game where he usually fills his boots from the kicking tee.

He is averaging just under 16 points a match in the fixture, with his best a 22-point haul at Camborne last season when the Chiefs managed a fine 32-23 victory.

In fact, Exeter have won the last three encounters between the two sides – the most recent a 38-7 success at Sandy Park last Christmas - and another win on Saturday would see them reach the halfway point of the regular league campaign with a 100 per cent record.

Championship leaders Chiefs are 19 points ahead of the fourth-place Cornishmen, and will go into the game as hot favourites, but the formbook tends to go out of the window on such occasions, and Steenson is wary of the threat the Pirates will pose.

"It is always nice when you play against your old club and it is going to be a great game – a big local derby," said the 25-year-old.

"I have seen what it is like on both sides, so I know how they are going to feel coming into the game.

"It is going to be a big game for them, but equally it is just as big a game for us. We want to put in a good performance on our own patch, and if we can get the result we want, we will have put in a big statement for the rest of the season."

Steenson left Pirates for Exeter in the summer of 2008, and added: "There are a few fellas still down at the Pirates that I know but, like anything, a few fellas have moved on, but hopefully, I can catch up with those I know after the game."

Exeter-Pirates derbies are always closely-fought affairs, but they surprisingly always seem to contain a lot of points, with an average of 55 per game being scored during the last four encounters between the two rivals.

There were 53 points in Exeter's clash with then second-place Nottingham at the weekend, with the Chiefs grabbing 42 of them in an emphatic win against the depleted Midlanders.

While there is nothing to be gained from finishing first in the final league table, with the top eight all going into the promotion play-offs, Exeter have laid down some important psychological markers away from home in their opening 10 matches, for when the really serious business gets under way in March.

They have beaten three top-four sides on their travels in Bristol, Nottingham and Bedford, although the Blues dropped out of the top four with their 25-24 defeat to the Pirates last Sunday.

"We have got ourselves into a great position," said Steenson. "We have taken the scalp of three top-four sides in the division, all away from home, so there is confidence around the boys, but there is still a lot we can improve on, and a lot of work to be done."

Steenson is once again leading the way in the Championship points-scoring table, with Saturday's 17-point haul with the boot taking him to 117 points for the season – 10 clear of his nearest rival, Aled Thomas of London Welsh.

He managed an impressive seven from eight record against Nottingham, with the miss being one of his simpler kicks on the day, but kicking at Welford Road, albeit in front of stands not even a tenth full, was an experience Steenson enjoyed.

"It was pretty nice kicking at Welford Road. It was not as windy as Sandy Park, that's for sure!" said Steenson.

"I had never been there before, so it was very pleasing. I was a bit disappointed with the one I missed, but I will not worry about that."