Baxter seeing improvements as Exeter win in cup

Exeter have won one and lost one of their first two Prem Rugby Cup games this season

Exeter Chiefs director of rugby Rob Baxter said he can see improvements in his side after they beat Bath 23-14 in the Prem Rugby Cup.

The win was a reversal of last year's final which Bath won, and was a first in the cup this season.

It comes as Exeter prepare to begin the Premiership campaign at Northampton Saints on Sunday - the Chiefs hope to improve on what was their worst-ever season when they finished second from bottom in May.

"Things are starting to align in areas of our game," Baxter told BBC Radio Devon.

"Our scrum looks very aligned at the moment, [in] what they want to achieve [and] how they want to achieve it.

"I thought at times our maul did, although we just didn't quite finish things off, but we'll get that, so you can feel that's coming.

"Some of our defensive sets were OK - Bath haven't scored loads of points, and we can't say anything other than we gave them one try under the posts. I don't know quite how we get that passing play as wrong as we do as it's really simple.

"But you take those seven points away and we battled away, we made a few mistakes, and it's actually been quite a regulation win.

He added: "This is the bit where we've got to get to ourselves to a point where we are composed enough that the bits that just shouldn't be hurting us, and shouldn't create pressure on us, just don't."