Nic Sestaret has warned Exeter Chiefs that they can ill afford another ill-disciplined display when they travel to Newcastle Falcons in the Premiership on Saturday.

Following their latest defeat to league leaders Harlequins, head coach Rob Baxter bemoaned the amount of 'soft penalties' his side conceded in the contest, which finished 11-9 to the Londoners.

Although just two points separated the sides at the final whistle, Harlequins could easily have been out of sight had flyhalf Rory Clegg not missed five of his seven kicks at the target.

However, one of the two kicks Clegg did land was a penalty three minutes from time which ensured Conor O'Shea's men of their 11th league win of the season at Sandy Park.

Now, ahead of Exeter's long trek to the North East, Frenchman Sestaret says the focus on staying disciplined has been talked about this past week by the Chiefs, especially as the Falcons have the predatory Jimmy Gopperth within their ranks.

The New Zealander has collected the Premiership's Golden Boot for the past two seasons and is widely regarded as one of the division's leading marksmen.

"Last week we made too many mistakes and gave away too many penalties," said Sestaret. "I'm not sure if we deserved to win the game against Quins, but we could have won and stole the game right at the end. Looking back their kicker missed like five kicks, but it will be a definitely different story if we do the same at Newcastle. Jimmy
Gopperth is a quality kicker for them and he's been in the like the top three every season.

"We know we cannot afford to make the same mistakes or it will be three points. Each week we talk about discipline, so I don't know quite what happened against Quins. Maybe we were a little too edgy and gave away too many soft penalties. I think this week everybody is a lot more conscious about giving away no penalties because we know there number ten will kick them all the time," he added.

Exeter's loss to Harlequins was their second over the festive period and came just four days after they went down to London Irish. The two defeats meant the Chiefs slipped from a position of third pre-Christmas to that of eighth currently.

Sestaret, though, insists that despite the double setback, the Chiefs remain in good hearts and will head to Kingston Park - a venue that won at last season - looking to get their campaign back on track.

"It will be tough, of course," said the centre. "Newcastle maybe bottom of the league, but they are a good side and very tough to play against, especially at home. But we've trained well this week and hopefully we can go up there and get a win."