JAMES Wilson knows Exeter Chiefs have reduced their Premiership Rugby Cup challenge to the simplest of equations – win this weekend and they are through to the knockout stages.

With one Pool A fixture left in the Premiership Rugby Cup for the Devonians, the route to the semi-finals is crystal clear. Beat Westcountry rivals and current holders Bath Rugby at Sandy Park on Saturday (4.40pm) and the Chiefs cannot be caught.

No calculators. No dependence on what happens when Gloucester Rugby face Bath in the final round. Just simply deliver.

Coach Wilson’s latest assessment of “it’s in our hands” was as blunt as it was accurate.

After climbing to the top of Pool A with an emphatic 48-14 win over Gloucester Rugby, the Chiefs side have certainly given themselves clarity. Add into the mix, Bath’s 33-24 victory against Bristol Bears also at the weekend, and it means there is now a three-team scrap for the two knockout places.

The Chiefs obviously sit pretty on top, two points ahead of Bath and four points ahead of Gloucester, but the job still needs to be done. However, there is a sharpness about this Chiefs side currently. They are not stumbling towards qualification, instead they are charging at it.

Young gun Campbell Ridl embodies that mindset. For the second successive week, the 21-year-old winger delivered a Valentine’s Day special, helping himself to another hat-trick.

Nine tries and counting in a breakout campaign. Two straight trebles. If Ridl isn’t already the Chiefs’ sweetheart, he certainly is now.

This was, however, no one-man romance. Exeter’s second-half surge was ruthless and clinical. Zack Wimbush crashed over twice, while Will Goodrick-Clarke, Ethan Roots and Paul Brown-Bampoe all added their own love letters to the scoreboard.

“He’s the man of the moment,” said Wilson. “He’s been playing some really good rugby over the last few weeks, finishing off some fantastic opportunities and he’s reaping the rewards.

“He’s a hard man to bring down, he’s a big boy, but some of those opportunities we are creating, he still has to beat the man and finish them – which he’s doing.”

In what was an even first half, Ridl struck first for the home side, latching onto a sublime cross-field kick to give the Chiefs a perfect start.

Gloucester responded sharply. Charlie Atkinson’s deft chip was gathered by Max Knight who, even minus a boot, raced in under the posts, before they edged in front when Matias Alemanno charged down a kick from Charlie Chapman and pounced on the loose ball to silence the home crowd.

The Cherry & Whites were executing their plan - squeezing the midfield, limiting Exeter’s long phases and forcing errors. However, their grip loosened just before the break. A needless penalty handed territory to the Chiefs and Wimbush did the rest, barging through two defenders to score under the posts.

After the break, however, it was a different story. Goodrick-Clarke struck first from close range, then Ridl followed with two clinical finishes. Wimbush added another, before Roots and Brown-Bampoe piled on the agony with late scores.

Meanwhile, Chiefs duo Dafydd Jenkins and Andrea Zambonin both suffered defeats in their latest Six Nations Championship fixtures.

Jenkins was part of the Wales side that lost 54-12 against France in Cardiff on Sunday, while Zambonin featured for Italy in their narrow 20-13 loss to Ireland in Dublin.