By Ed Scott
April 29 2011

The penultimate game of the season is our rearranged trip up to Kingston Park to face relegation candidates Newcastle Falcons.

I am currently trying to focus on this preview as I seem incapable of wiping the smile off my face after last weekend! For those who made the trip to Twickenham (a welcome 50p bus ride for me rather than the usual £60 petrol bill!), it was another special day for Bath at HQ. It reminded me why it is worth it to care so much about Bath. It really hurts when it goes wrong (the home games vs Glaws and Leicester in particular spring to mind) but when you witness a victory like that, those moments seem to melt away. I will now simply remember the sun beating down, a cider in my hand, and Bath showing everyone why they are still one of the most devastating attacking teams in the Premiership. Having already watched the full game twice, and the highlights once, I think I need to move on though!

It is imperative that we put last weekend behind us and realise that there is still a great deal to do before the season is finished. Saturday is our vital game in hand on the rest of the field and we need to make it count. We can start the maths on top four next week (if applicable), but for the time being, Heineken Cup rugby must be our main priority. It not only generates vital revenue streams, but also attracts top players to the club.

Luckily, the calculations are fairly simple for the finish we need. Right now we sit in the vital sixth spot, one point behind London Irish and two points ahead of Harlequins. As such, any sort of win on Saturday guarantees us our spot in Europe's premier competition. Although not an eventuality we will wish to entertain, two losses against Newcastle would see us looking at other fixtures. Quins have Saracens at home and Irish play Tiggers away. With those opponents, and our game in hand, I think we should expect to be in the competition next season.

That said, we are up against a team battling for their Premiership lives. The form guide and the book makers would have Bath comfortable victors, but an away trip to Newcastle has never been easy. I expect similar spoiling tactics we were greeted with during our LV Cup match as Newcastle attempt to slow down and disrupt the game. They will then rely on the accurate boot of Jimmy Gopperth to put the points on the board. If we're not careful it could be a slip up.

Whilst I have never had anything against Newcastle or Leeds, after Alan Tait's tactics and post match comments in relation to Aaron Jarvis' season ending shoulder injury, I am finding it hard not to want them to be relegated. I know Neil Back is no saint, but Tait's comments were ignorant, arrogant and uncalled for. I can think of no better way of focussing the players on the job at hand this week than playing them a short video clip of his post-match interview.

For many reasons I don't expect the team sheet to read very differently from the one we saw last week. Apart from the fact that, that team delivered a superb victory last weekend, with injuries, we have few other options available. An interesting decision could come to pass if Luke Watson is fit, because who would you not play? Ben Skirving would be the most obvious choice for many, but he has been superb of late and deserves his place. Lewis Moody took a knock in training before the Wasps game, but is fully expected to be fit. Simon Taylor could start in the second row after Danny and Nacho both did 80 minutes, but then again, they were both still firing on all cylinders at the end and I get the impression that they both rather enjoyed it. It's a conundrum that I'm sure the coaches are happy to have however.

Saturday is a tough act to follow. With one foot in Europe we need to focus on the four points available this weekend rather than trying to score tries from any spot on the pitch to get the bonus point. Saying that, if we can dominate up front once more, then who knows what our backline might be capable of.