Exeter Chiefs were made to sweat right until the final moments in recording a welcome Christmas Eve Premiership win over Bath at a blustery Sandy Park.

Bath stiffened up their set-piece after the break, and were rewarded when Niall Annett mauled over for a try.

They kept the home side scoreless, but were unable to further breach the line.

This win takes Rob Baxter’s side up to sixth, leapfrogging Northampton, while Bath stay second bottom following successes for London Irish and Newcastle the previous evening.

If Baxter was looking for signs that Exeter had rediscovered their mojo on the back of two European bonus point wins, it was certainly present in the defensive mettle they showed in the final phases of this encounter.

Bath had rallied magnificently in the second 40, kicking to corners and using line-outs to really dig at the heart of the Chiefs back-line.

But Exeter stood firm even when they conceded a five-metre scrum with seconds left on the clock, and did not wilt in the face of repeated drives before a relieving penalty sealed the points.

At the other end, Exeter’s earlier tries were more the result of graft than craft, as Ewers powered over on the back of pick-and-go surges and Slade’s score followed a close-range charge-down.

Bath began by scoring a wonderful try when a Louis Schreuder ball to the left wing was batted back inside in one motion by Cameron Redpath for Cokanasiga to dive in.

And having forced their way back into the contest, they were rewarded when Annett, an early replacement after Tom Dunn was forced off following a failed head injury assessment, finished off a near full-team maul to make things interesting.

But after three straight wins in the autumn, back-to-back Premiership defeats keeps Johann van Graan’s side down at the wrong end of table.

Exeter head coach Ali Hepher told BBC Radio Devon:

“It was a huge win. We spoke at the beginning of the week that this was the biggest game of the season so far, and it played out lie that.

“They’re a really tough, resilient side, and well organised, they didn’t give us too many opportunities and we had to defend exceptionally well. We had to scrap for it.

“It’s not a great place in the changing room with all the coughing and spluttering going on. We are carrying a lot of bugs around the camp so there were a lot of guys who have done well to dig in there because they were out on their feet at half-time.

“I’m pleased with the attitude, probably a year ago we wouldn’t have won that game, so what we need to do is get away from each other for a few days, hopefully get this bug out of the camp and move on to Saracens.”

Bath director of rugby Johann van Graan told BBC Radio Bristol:

“I’m gutted. Exeter Chiefs are a team I respect a lot and we had an opportunity in the end to beat them here. To come up one metre short in the context of the game is gutting.

“The charge down was a key moment in the game, seven points for them, but I’m really proud of the way we fought tonight.

“Credit to the Chiefs as well, I thought it was a class game. Conditions played their part, we had the first 40 against the wind and they had it in the second.

“We’re getting better, we want to become tough to beat and we certainly were.”

Exeter: Hodge, Nowell, Slade, Kata, Woodburn, J. Simmonds, Maunder; Sio, Yeandle (c), Williams, Jenkins, Gray, Ewers, Tshiunza, S. Simmonds.

Replacements: Frost, Iosefa-Scott, Schickerling, Dunne, Grondona, Cairns, Hendrickson, Hogg.

Bath: Gallagher, Cokanasiga, Lawrence, Redpath, McConnochie, Bailey, Schreuder; Boyce, Dunn, Rae, W. Spencer, Lee-Warner, Hill, Underhill, Bayliss.

Replacements: Annett, Morozov, Griffin, Attwood, Ellis, Spencer, Ojomoh, Reid.

Referee: Tom Foley