FORMER Bath skipper Stuart Hooper felt his side showed grit and determination in snatching a 33-31 win over Leicester to make it two wins out of two in the Anglo-Welsh Cup.

A penalty try at the death won it at the Rec, while Freddie Burns scored a try and kicked two conversions and four penalties against his old club.

Hooper, now part of the club's back-room staff, had particular words of praise for the back row.

"We're pleased with the result," he said. "There are things to work on but to come through in the end and get the win is really pleasing.

"In the first half we were a bit sloppy, to be honest. We let go of the ball a bit too often and didn't keep hold of it in the attacking third, which meant we didn't build a huge amount of pressure.

"It's really good for the guys to learn about how to win games of rugby and they did that tonight, closing it down with a minute and 40 left on the clock.

"As a management team, we want to give the players every opportunity to perform to the best of their ability. We don't ease off in training or look for short-cuts. Every time we go out as a Bath team, we try to win.

"Josh Bayliss played well. His energy was fantastic and he got our line speed going in defence. Our back row put a lot of pressure on theirs and particularly come the end when Zach (Mercer) picked up and scored his try."

Leicester's assistant coach Geordan Murphy was pleased with his young side's performance, despite the last-gasp defeat.

"I'm really proud of the guys tonight," he said. "We made some mistakes and there are lessons we can learn.

"But on the whole, I thought it was an heroic performance. The boys got stuck in and defended as if their lives depended on it. We had 14 men for the last 10 minutes and (their score) was a little bit inevitable.

"Bath had a strong side and it was a bit daunting for some of the younger players, but it was a great opportunity for us. There was no pressure on us and I don't think many people would have given us a sniff beforehand, given the match-ups on paper."