DIRECTOR of rugby Todd Blackadder has refused to write off his side's Aviva Premiership play-off hopes despite his side's 20-18 defeat by champions Exeter Chiefs at the Rec.

Fly-half Joe Simmonds' late penalty in a 10-point haul thwarted Bath at the Recreation Ground, while his older brother - England number eight Sam Simmonds - scored a try, along with Chiefs lock Jonny Hill.

Bath looked to have done enough for a crucial victory in their Premiership play-off push when Wales international fly-half Rhys Priestland, making his first appearance in two months after injury, converted substitute Paul Grant's try 13 minutes from time.

Bath had trailed by 11 points just 15 minutes earlier, yet they displayed deep reserves of character and commitment to fight back, with wing Matt Banahan claiming a well-worked try and Freddie Burns kicking two penalties.

The losing bonus means they are four points adrift of the play-off zone with just four games remaining, and two of those are away against Saracens and Gloucester.

Blackadder said: "I'm really proud of the effort the boys put in. It was a fantastic second-half fightback, and it just came down to one or two moments like a dropped ball here or there.

"There is no magic bullet or panic. Tonight proves we have to do the simple things well. If we perform like that, we will be in a position to win a game.

"We need to focus on our performance and get that right. They were impressive going forward, but we put them in those positions.

"I hope we can make the top four. We will possibly have to win the last four games, otherwise you are relying on other people's results. We are in a good position to do that."

Rob Baxter says his Exeter team "refused to lie down" as they moved 11 points clear at the Aviva Premiership summit.

"At 17-6 up we had our kind of switch-off little period, and Bath got on the front foot and started to walk us back a bit," Exeter rugby director Baxter said.

"But stats-wise, I think we forced Bath to make probably twice as many tackles as us, and we've had guys with real high carry stats.

"I've said to the players that the key thing now is the character we are showing.

"The points are important, of course they are, because you want to be at the right end of the table, you want to be in the top four and try for a home semi-final.

"But you have got to make sure you are not crawling and scratching your way to it, you want to be seeing steps of progress, and I saw that today from us. We weren't going to give up, we refused to lie down.

"We had enough in the tank at the end to get a very important win. The players deserve a lot of credit. It was physical, a tough old game of rugby."