Ben White admitted to mixed emotions after the narrow Anglo-Welsh Cup defeat to Bath Rugby on Friday evening.
Scrum-half White, 19, made his first start for Leicester Tigers and scored his first try in the 33-31 reverse at The Rec.
Coach Geordan Murphy gave senior debuts to development squad membersTom Hardwick, Jordan Olowofela and Tommy Reffell, while Harry Simmons, Sam Lewis and Fred Tuilagi all made their second starts.
Tigers led from the ninth minute when 18-year-old Hardwick kicked a penalty for his first points for the club until a penalty try saw Bath snatch the victory two minutes from time.
White said: “It was mixed feelings afterwards. We did ourselves justice. We went out there, we put on a performance and we really took it to them.
“However, we were a bit gutted by the result. We wanted to win it, so to lose at the end was disappointing.
“But we’re positive. There is a lot to take out of it, and we got two match points from it.
“We have to be proud of ourselves. We really took it to a more experienced side and, on another day, we might have won it.”
