EXETER Chiefs may have beaten every team in the Championship this season and have already secured a top-two place, but Rob Baxter thinks there is one thing missing so far.

The head coach knows his side have not performed as well as they can in derby matches this term — and he wants that put right against the Cornish Pirates on Sunday.

The Chiefs beat both Plymouth Albion and the Pirates at home earlier in the campaign without really hitting their straps.

Exeter's first league defeat of the season then came at Brickfields, when Plymouth won 23-13 in December.

Baxter wants his players to turn it on at Camborne's Recreation Ground this weekend and show their cross-Tamar rivals what they are capable of.

Sunday's game is only the first of two matches between the sides this month, as Exeter also travel to play the Pirates and Plymouth in the British & Irish Cup.

"The truth of the matter is that we haven't performed to our potential in a local derby yet this season," said Baxter.

"Everyone's aware we lost at Plymouth and we didn't perform well — we're well aware of that.

"In both home games we beat Plymouth and the Pirates and we performed well enough to win and deserved to win, but they weren't vintage performances by any means.

"This is a very important game for us and it's another step along the way in terms of getting some momentum going towards the play-offs and playing well."

Those play-offs are fast approaching, with the Chiefs having only three more league games before they start their campaign in one of the two pools of four teams bidding for the title.

Exeter are already assured of a place in the top-two — handing them a preferential route through their pool — but the Pirates still need one win to secure a top-eight berth.

Moseley, Plymouth, Rotherham and Doncaster are all fighting hard to avoid being in the bottom four and ending up in the relegation play-offs and Baxter claims that is making the end of the regular season interesting.

"We've got three games to go and it's getting towards the exciting time of the season," he said. "Some clubs in this league are really fighting for their lives so that they get to where they want to be.

"Some are desperate just to get into the top eight and others want to play for a particular position within the top eight. That's creating some very exciting fixtures at the end of the (regular) season. For us, we've now cemented at least second place so it's about building towards those play-offs."

The Chiefs will continue to build, with Gareth Steenson restored at fly-half — four days after Baxter said the Irishman could be out for at least two weeks with shingles.

"We were fortunate that the medical people at the club got hold of it (shingles) quickly and that meant they got the right treatment into him early,"said Baxter. "On Monday we thought he (Steenson) wouldn't be right, but on Tuesday he said he felt 100 per cent and wanted to be considered for selection."