The scale of the task facing Coventry this season, namely progressing up the increasingly stodgy National One table, is best manifested by the plight of tomorrow's visitors, Exeter.

Here is a full-time team, replete with experienced professionals most of whom have played at a higher level, and one that stands on the brink of moving to a shiny new purpose-built stadium.

Yet for all their undoubted wealth, they cannot buy consecutive league wins, such is the nature of the increasingly difficult First Division in which clubs seemingly have to sprint just to stay still.

By that definition, Exeter must be operating some way short of full pace given that they mounted a serious challenge for promotion for fourfifths of last season, only to sit in mid-table ignominy having been beaten at home by Otley last time out.

It is in these exacting circumstances that Coventry and their head coach, Mike Umaga, must try to plan their own route through the division's choppy waters and Exeter are the next obstacle at Butts Park Arena tomorrow afternoon.

Throughout the current campaign, Umaga's own side have oscillated between convincing and calamitous while all the time demonstrating an ability to go toe-to-toe with the best sides in the league yet retaining a propensity to let the meeker outfits slip the hook.

Which means that when these two meet, every result is a viable option. Yet that's pretty much the way it's been since the most competitive National One season in history kicked off.

"It has not surprised me," Umaga said yesterday. "With the financial backing that is coming into these clubs, the division was only ever going to get better.

"There are only a certain amount of players who can go into Premiership squads so the rest have to go somewhere because there's a lot of talent out there and those Premiership clubs are wanting to send some of their fringe players to this division to show their wares."

The gap between full-time and semi- professional remains yet for Exeter and Plymouth Albion, clubs that have failed to take the havenots sufficiently seriously, mistakes have proved costly.

Coventry almost made another of those sides, Cornish Pirates, pay for underperforming last weekend. A 15-10 defeat and the scant consolation of a loss bonus was insufficient reward for their domination of the first half. "The players were pretty gutted about not coming away with the full complement," Umaga admitted. "It wasn't until half-time that they boys realised they could take the game away from them."

That's often the way with full-time teams, the aura sometimes overshadows the ability, so Umaga will be hopeful his side tear into the Devonians from the first whistle rather than taking 20 minutes to admire plans for the new facility at Sandy Park.

"They are a very different team from the Exeter of old," he said. "They are trying to expand their style of rugby - although they traditionally have a strong set of forwards and we have to combat that.

"But our forwards are really stepping up to the mark for us. We probably gave away about half a stone a man in the pack but we were still not dominated by the Pirates - if anything, by the end of the game, we had won that battle."

The home pack will be without No 8 Dan Farani, who has signed for Super 14 side Natal Sharks following his European tour with the Samoa national side.

They will also get just a cameo appearance from skipper Hendry Rheeders, since the South African's wrist has only been out of plaster for a week which means his compatriot, Henno Venter, is likely to continue at the back of the scrum.

Richard Davies and Gareth Gravell need late fitness checks, with flu and a neck problem respectively, and concern grows over the headaches centre Nik Witkowski experiences when he trains. On the positive side, Jon Higgins and James Moore are fit.