Baxter led the Chiefs to promotion from the Championship last season

Exeter Chiefs boss Rob Baxter has said his players have learnt valuable lessons from their first two matches in the European Challange Cup.

After losing 20-13 at home against Montpellier, Exeter went to France and won 34-19 against Bourgoin.

Baxter told BBC Spotlight: "We gave a lot of squad players the opportunity to go out and get some game time.

"Some of them took the opportunity really well and others didn't - but they'll have learnt a lot from that."

He added: "We used the Cup exactly how we wanted to.

"We freshened up a number of players who'd had a lot of Premiership rugby with the first week off for a lot of those guys.

As a whole we're where we want to be Rob Baxter

After defeat at home against Montpellier, Baxter picked a significantly stronger side to for the trip to France.

"We took a strong team to Bourgoin but that was as much about getting a strong run into the Premiership and that was important for us as well. So I think we're really pleased with how we ran our cup approach."

"We would like to have won at home and I still think that the team that we picked should have and could have won.

"We failed in that, but as a whole we're where we want to be."

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