First-team coach Neal Hatley says Bath Rugby have plenty still to work on despite progressing to the LV= Cup semi-finals yesterday.
Bath muscled their way to a 24-13 bonus-point win over Cardiff Blues in awful weather conditions at The Rec.
The result means they cannot be caught at the top of Pool 3 ahead of next Friday's final group-phase game at Leicester Tigers.
Hatley said: "We're pleased with the outcome – to come away with five points, we're pleased with that – but there's lots to work on with the actual performance itself.
"I don't think we looked after the ball well enough. The five minutes before half-time and the ten minutes after half-time we were very dominant physically, but for periods before that and towards the end we lost control at the contact area. We couldn't really build any pressure.
"I thought we scrummaged well in patches, and we defended well for large parts.
"We're pleased for guys who haven't played for a while. It's nice to have Alafoti Fa'osiliva back – I think he was particularly good for 40 minutes. Dave Sisi came on and made a decent impact and Ross Batty hasn't played in a while – he was very good for the first 50 minutes.
"They have been waiting for their chance. We talk about the squad depth and some guys may go a while without any rugby. It's good to have these opportunities to give those guys a run."
One area that Hatley was keen to single out for praise was the driving maul. Fa'osiliva, Micky Young and Guy Mercer all touched down following powerful shoves from the Bath pack at lineouts.
Gavin Henson got Bath's other try, darting over from close range as the hosts pounded the Cardiff line. Dan Fish got a consolation touchdown for Blues at the death.
"The driving maul is something that [first-team coach] Toby Booth's put a lot of work into," said forwards boss Hatley.
"We said at half-time that if we can establish some field position from those midfield penalties, we would back ourselves to drive them over from 20m.
"To come away with three tries from that is great reward for the work the boys have been putting in."
