Exeter Chiefs head coach Rob Baxter praised the efforts of his young side after they lost 31-3 to a star-studded Bath in their final LV= Cup pool match at Sandy Park last night.

The Chiefs rested a host of their big names ahead of next Saturday's Aviva Premiership home game against Leicester Tigers, and gave first-team experience to a clutch of their Academy youngsters.

It was always going to be a tall order against a Bath line-up packed full of internationals, but the Chiefs put up a gutsy display to restrict their opponents to only five tries.

"I think the game had a little bit of everything," said Baxter. "I am disappointed we didn't keep the ball more.

"I think we were a little bit edgy and we over-kicked, particularly in the first half, and that didn't really allow us to get ourselves into the game," he added.

"I thought we defended very, very well for large periods of the match, and some of the young players stood up really well.

"In particular, I thought Sam Hill in the middle of the park looked big, strong and physical, and defended very well, and Dave Ewers had another strong game.

"Jack Arnott got his first start and had a big game for us and did very well, and come the end of the match, we had an Academy front row on the pitch.

"All in all, there were a lot of positives, but I said to the guys that I didn't think we played at our best because we didn't keep the ball and go after the game and play as we usually do, which is by making it difficult for the opposition to get the ball off us and put them under pressure.

"We put ourselves under pressure a little bit. We didn't quite know what we wanted to do with the ball and weren't patient enough and looked for the easy options a little bit too early. But it was a relatively inexperienced side put together at quite short notice and I think there were a lot of positives against a strong Bath line-up."

Baxter said the game had helped to give him an insight into how Bath might play when they visit Sandy Park again at the end of this month in the Premiership.

"Every game you play against a team, you get to know them a little bit better," said Baxter.

"The truth is, Bath will expect to play a lot better when they come here in the league. It will be a different environment and a different pressure, and the intensity will probably be a good deal higher. But some of our guys who played today did themselves great credit."

With the Leicester game looming on Saturday, it was disappointing to see skipper-for-the-day James Hanks helped from the field midway through the second half with an ankle injury.

The lock returned from a near-three-month lay-off with a knee injury against London Wasps only the previous weekend.

"I don't know how serious it is yet as I haven't had a chance to speak to the medical staff," said Baxter.

"It was good to see he walked off the pitch and didn't need a stretcher, but we will just have to assess him in the days ahead."

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