Exeter boss Rob Baxter insists his side will not be resting on their laurels despite sealing a Gallagher Premiership semi-final spot with five games still remaining.
The Chiefs moved nine points clear at the top of the standings as well as securing a play-off berth for the fourth successive season with a 29-10 win over Bath at Sandy Park.
It is the earliest that a team has secured a semi-final place in Premiership history but Chiefs director of rugby Baxter is determined to ensure there is no let-up from his league leaders.
He said: “We are ticking off some milestones but we don’t want to splutter through the last five games as we want to build a belief in ourselves and take some belief away from the others.
“The squad will have a break now because we are out of Europe and playing two games less than Saracens may help us in the long run.”
Exeter had to overcome the pre-match loss of Gareth Steenson but still managed tries from Ollie Devoto, Olly Woodburn and Jack Yeandle.
There was also a penalty try award with Steenson’s replacement, Joe Simmonds, converting two and adding a penalty.
Baxter added: “There was an element of rustiness in our game as we had to integrate our internationals so it didn’t quite flow.
“Losing Gareth Steenson with a calf twinge in the warm-up disrupted our plans as Joe Simmonds hasn’t had of lot game time lately, but we overcame that as Joe played exceptionally well.”
Bath had the lion’s share of possession but their only reward came from a single try from Nathan Catt and five points from Rhys Priestland’s boot.
A victory would have seen Bath climb into the top five and head coach Todd Blackadder was left to reflect on missed opportunities.
Joe Simmonds
He said: “Two or three tries went begging as we went away from our systems, especially in the red zone.
“We created opportunities but didn’t execute them, which you have to do against Exeter otherwise you lose.
“I thought we played pretty well but in the first half, our kicking was poor as it allowed them to counter-attack and our ball-carriers weren’t good enough as we wanted quick ball.”
Next up for seventh-placed Bath is a fixture at Twickenham against local rivals Bristol in a fortnight’s time.
Blackadder added: “Our target is to fight for everything and we want to finish in the top six.”
Bath captain Will Chudley, making his first appearance at Sandy Park since his departure from the Chiefs, also felt his side should have got more out of the West Country derby.
He said: “Our performance was good in the first 50 minutes but you have to capitalise if you are going to stay in the game.
“We had kickable penalties but we back our set-piece to deliver, but it didn’t today as a killer instinct was needed.
“We didn’t get the ball wide enough in the second half but this league is crazy as anyone can beat anyone so there’s still a lot to play for.”
