Bath earn hard-fought win against Exeter Chiefs

Bath managed to hold on to a scrappy 19-17 victory against the Exeter Chiefs on the opening weekend of Aviva Premiership Rugby.

Exeter took the lead within the first 90 seconds, as a counter put debutant James Short through, holding off a tackle to put the away side 5-0 up after Gareth Steenson missed the conversion.

England international George Ford put his kick between the posts to pull Bath to within two points of Exeter, before Steenson made up for his earlier mistake by adding three points to make it 8-3.

Bath then took the lead through captain Stuart Hooper after Anthony Watson took a challenge before playing the ball to Hooper in space to score.

Steenson then scored another penalty to give Exeter the lead with 11-10 at half time.

Ford and Steenson then exchanged two kicks each as both sides pushed hard for the victory in a scrappy affair.

The England international hit the vital three points in the final two minutes before Henry Slade had his drop-kick blocked, sealing the win for last season's Premiership finalists.

The Chiefs performed admirably and earned a bonus point to help ease their heartbreak.