The Devon outfit were defeated 18-8 in November and 11-25 at Sandy Park in November by the Saints and will certainly go into the game as underdogs with Northampton already crowned Division One champions this season.

“This is the biggest game of our season and we will have to put in the best performance of our season to win,” said Baxter, who plays No. 8 for Exeter. “We are delighted to be in the final and having got ourselves here we know we have got a very good chance of winning it.

“Playing our league rivals does add extra spice to the fixture. We have played twice this season and Northampton have just edged the win on both occasions. Now we know where we have got to make the step up and if we prepare as thoroughly as we can ahead of Saturday then hopefully we can get that win against them.

“Northampton are of course the toughest opponents we can play in this competition. They practically brought down a whole premiership side this season when they were relegated and that is why they are so strong. It is a great learning curve for us to affectively play a premiership side three times in a season as we continue to develop and improve our game and seek promotion into the premiership.”

Exeter have, however, also been enjoying their rugby this season and are second in the league. The domestic trophy is also a favourite of the Chiefs with Exeter having contested the tournament final four times in the last six years 

Baxter is hoping 2008 will be fourth time lucky though. He added: “This has been a good season for us and we would like to end it on a winning note.

“The cup is massively important to us; it is just as important as the league. We have enjoyed a lot of success in it in the past and we want that to continue but also to go that one step further and if we do that, it would be a tremendous end to the season for us.”