Exeter boss Rob Baxter says his squad are at “step one on a long journey” after missing out on a Premiership play-off place.

The Chiefs’ young side finished the season seventh, six points off the top four.

Having seen a host of established stars such as Jack Nowell, Sam Simmonds, Dave Ewers and Harry Williams leave last summer, many had written off Exeter’s hopes for this season.

But Exeter got one fewer win than second-placed Bath and fourth-placed Saracens as players such as Immanuel Feyi-Waboso, Ethan Roots and Dafydd Jenkins established themselves as new star players.

“Let’s make this step one and not the final step,” Baxter told BBC Radio Devon after losing at Leicester on Saturday.

“This is step one of a long journey and lessons for the rest of the journey.”

In the first season of a 10-team Premiership, Exeter were one of seven sides with a chance of a semi-final place going into the final weekend.

Baxter hopes the experienced gained by his young players will stand them in good stead as the Chiefs look to return to the play-offs next season, having not made the top four since 2021.

He said the end of this season “could have looked a lot different” and hopes they come out of it having learned “how to pick up a few more bonus points away from home, a few more try bonus points – because we left a lot of four-try bonus points begging this season”.

He added: “Maybe if we hadn’t have got through to the Toulouse game and we’d have played Bath fresh, who knows?

“That’s how close the season got – it got down to one or two results and we’ve just got to flip the balance back into our favour.”