Watson hopeful of Bath improvement

Bath No.8 Luke Watson hopes that his side have turned a corner after picking up their first Heineken Cup win of the season against Edinburgh last weekend.

The former Western Province skipper has been in great form since arriving in the west country and has called on the Guinness Premiership strugglers to pull out another big performance when they troop out for the return fixture at Murrayfield on Saturday. Victory would keep Bath in the hunt in Pool 4, with Ulster and Stade Francais going head to head at the King Baudouin Stadium in Brussels.

"It was a really gutsy performance and a great win for the team," he said. "We showed real character, and I really think this could be a bit of a turning point for us. I certainly don't want to pull that card too soon and say we are going to win every game for the rest of the season. But it is possibly a point in the competition where we can look and say we have put our hand up, put in a great effort and get our just reward."

Reigning champions Leinster also breathed new life into their campaign by thrashing the Scarlets 32-7 in Llanelli last weekend and coach Michael Cheika is hoping for back-to-back bonus-point in a fiercely competitive Pool also containing London Irish, who picked up five points in Brive last time out.

"Because we are in such a difficult group, every point and every try is going to count," Cheika said. "We were happy to get that fourth try at Parc-y-Scarlets, but now we have to make sure we eliminate the negative parts we showed in the second-half and build a better performance for Saturday. It is about being more physical, more aggressive and more ruthless. We cannot rest on what we have done."

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