Exeter's Gareth Steenson kicked three penalties in last week's first leg success at Sandy Park © Getty Images

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Matches: Bristol Bears 10 - 29 Exeter Chiefs

Tournaments/Tours: Guinness Premiership

Teams: Bristol Bears

Grounds: Memorial Stadium

Exeter Chiefs stand on the cusp of Guinness Premiership rugby as they head into Wednesday night's Championship final second leg clash with Bristol at the Memorial Stadium.

The Chiefs, who have never before played in the English game's elite league, edged a tight, tense affair 9-6 when the two sides met before a record capacity crowd of 10,021 at Sandy Park a week ago, with Exeter fly-half Gareth Steenson outscoring his Bristol counterpart Adrian Jarvis by three penalties to two.

The game merely served to further underline how little there is to choose between the two sides. Unsurprisingly, Bristol remain the favourites to secure promotion given the slender nature of Exeter's advantage, and also the fact that it was Paul Hull's men who finished top of the regular season standings.

However, second-placed Exeter posted an identical record of 19 wins from 22 games, with the difference being Bristol's four extra bonus points, and it is also worth noting that the Chiefs scored more points over the course of the campaign. As a result, winger Paul McKenzie believes that the underdogs are more than capable of finishing what they started at Sandy Park seven days ago.

"It might have been nice to go up there with a bigger points difference, but it's now effectively half-time in the game," the Irishman said. "Both sides are under different pressures. Bristol are playing at home in front of a partisan, expectant crowd. I guess it comes down to a one-off cup final game now."

McKenzie's team-mate Phil Dollman, who picked up the man of the match award for a swashbuckling midfield display in the first leg, is also looking forward to the winner-takes-all nature of Wednesday night's game in the West Country.

"I have played in games at this stage of the season where nothing is riding on them. It's nice to play in pressure games," he said. "Both sides will be throwing everything at it. We will go into it with the same game-plan and try to stick to it as long as possible to hopefully get the right result."

Bristol's Jason Spice admits that he too is feeling the pressure ahead of the game. The former Ospreys and Cardiff Blues No.9 has played in grander fixtures but he is very aware of the significance of this final, not for himself but rather his colleagues.

"I have said that this is not massively important to me as my career comes to an end but it has actually become an important game because it is not about me," Spice said. "I've got all these young mates around me whose careers are just starting and so it is massive for them. That brings with it a lot of responsibility. You can watch some of these young guys and know they are good enough to play for England. They need to be playing Premiership rugby, and the city needs a Premiership rugby team."

Bristol certainly failed to prove their worth in the first leg but head coach Paul Hull is confident that they will make amends on home soil and secure promotion to the Guinness Premiership at the very first attempt.

"I'm sure we can turn that three-point deficit around - and our supporters can play a massive part in that," he said. "All in all, it's not a bad position to be in. I think it will be a packed house of more than 11,000 - and we've done well at home all year."

The Rugby Football Union's management board have confirmed that both clubs have passed the entry criteria for the Premiership. The decision was ratified by the board after a report by independent auditors PMP found that both club's met the minimum standards criteria set out by the Professional Game Board.

Bristol: (from) L Arscott, Robinson, Eves, Faitalofa, T Arscott, Jarvis, Spice (capt), Crompton, Blaney, Thompson, Phillips, Winters, Grieve, Pennycock, Montagu, Hayes, Irish, Barry, Merriman, Alford, Giddens, Norton.

Exeter Chiefs: Foster, Jess, Sestaret, Dollman, McKenzie, Steenson, Thomas, Sturgess, Clark, Tui, Hayes (capt), Hanks, Slade, Scaysbrook, Baxter.

Replacements: Alcott, Budgen, Gannon, Johnson, Stuart-Smith, Gray, Cornwell.