BATH'S 37-15 LV= Cup victory over Exeter demonstrates how they now have a squad of players "hungry" for success, according to forwards coach Neal Hatley.

They caught Exeter cold with early tries from Matt Banahan and Matt Garvey and added further touchdowns by Martin Roberts and Charlie Beech, with George Ford and Tom Heathcote sharing 17 points from the boot. Exeter's tries came from James Phillips and Greg Bateman.

"I think we did look hungry," Hatley said.

"That's what competition for places does. That healthy competition means that every single opportunity, they're going to have to take with both hands.

"Martin Roberts had a good run-out (at scrum-half) so he is putting pressure on Peter Stringer. It's the same with the second rows and the props, knowing for instance that Nathan Catt and Charlie Beech can come on and do a good job."

Beech grabbed the vital bonus-point try late in the game but Bath had put themselves in an almost unassailable position in the first 15 minutes.

"We been putting some emphasis on how we start games," said Hatley.

"So it's nice to see it come off. Being 17-3 up put them under a bit of pressure.

"Defensively we were a lot better today. Exeter are a team who are very hard to get the ball off so we were pleased that we were able to get the ball off them more quickly than we have in the past."

Exeter head coach Rob Baxter said: "We were uncharacteristically slow out of the blocks. We lost momentum in that crucial first quarter and found ourselves in a position that was very difficult to get out of. It meant that other good areas of our play, when we did control the ball, didn't count for much.

"We missed too many one-on-one tackles; we couldn't slow their ball and didn't form a defensive line.

"Bath fully exploited it - fair play to them. They came out of the blocks really flying, with a different tempo. It's what we should have shown in that first 15 minutes."

He added: "That dictated how the game went from then on. It gave them a comfortable cushion to work with. It's difficult then to create a pressure game of rugby.

"There's no point looking for excuses. Not everyone was asleep in those first few minutes but we missed one-on-one tackles. I'm a big one for saying: 'credit to Bath'. They went after it - and reaped the rewards."

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