The Scarlets fielded different XVs for the first and second halves, mixing the experience of Wales caps such as Vernon Cooper with the youth of talent such as Dale Ford and Scott Williams.

With a return trip to Bath's Recreation Ground planned this Friday, Davies told Saturday's post-match media conference that the 80 minutes at Parc y Scarlets had been an important stepping stone towards the new campaign.

He said: "We need to progress our game in time for the season and, in that respect, we got a lot out of the first half against Bath.

"The game was about having a look at a couple of people who are there or thereabouts in terms of our squad - and we did a lot of that in the second half.

"It was a very useful experience. In the first half I was pleased with some of the pattern we saw, certainly on the occasions we kept the ball alive.

"We now have some momentum going into the next game and we know more about some of the new lads; some of them have only just turned 18 and some have just been through their first pre-season."

New signings on show included flanker Richie Pugh, wing Sean Lamont and prop Rhys Thomas.

Davies said: "I thought Richie had a fantastic first half - he was into everything, was first to the ball and was great as a link player. I was delighted with his performance.

"I thought Sean was very busy - he looked for work and popped up virtually everywhere on the field. That's great because we're looking to take the attacking side of our game up a couple of notches this season and Sean will be very important to that.

"Rhys showed real aggression in the tight areas and, although he got a bang on the ribs, he's going to get into his role really well."

Photo Sean Lamont in action against Bath.