A Tigers squad featuring 10 players aged 21 or under lost 35-10 at Sandy Park, but Cockerill says the players and coaching staff would take the positives from lessons learned, experience gained and some valuable game-time.
“It is all part of the development of players,” said Cockerill. “We’ve got players away, we still have a few injuries, there were lots of younger guys out there and some senior guys coming back from injury and needing game-time.
“They can all use the game to see where they are and learn from it.
“Exeter are a good side and, if you do not control the ball against them, then they are very difficult to play against. In the first half we found it tough and made it very difficult for ourselves.
“But we finished the half strongly and at half-time we just talked about everyone keeping their heads up, showing a bit of bottle and pride, and being positive. I thought they did that really well in the second half.
“We regrouped pretty well and scored two tries of our own.”
Dan Hipkiss scored his first try since the home win over the same opponents in the Aviva Premiership back in September, while stand-in captain Boris Stankovich ended a run of 62 appearances without a try, touching down in the last action of the game as Tigers took a catch and drive at a line-out inside the Chiefs 22.
Hipkiss, returning from hamstring trouble for his first start of 2011, said: “We’ve not had a lot of time together as a team but everyone worked hard and we can take the positives from that second half.
“Personally, I was happy with how things went for me in my first game back. Now I want to build from that.
“There are some good young players in that team and they are the future of the club. I remember what it was like to be in their shoes and, as an older player, you try to feed off their enthusiasm.”
With one round still to play – against Bath at Welford Road on Friday (7.30pm) – just five points separate the four teams in Tigers’ LV= Cup pool.
