True Blue

Having seen off the challenge of red and black at the weekend, Bath next have two shots to pot the blue. Home and away encounters against Cardiff Blues in the space of six days should be the pivotal point of Bath’s European Challenge Cup campaign. Cardiff top Pool 4 thanks to a bonus point edge over Bath. To progress Bath must win at least one of these two matches and to be sure of a favourable knockout draw, victory in both will be needed. Currently Bath stand in seventh position of potential qualifiers, behind Gloucester among the second placed teams, so qualification is in the balance despite a full win record to date. Cardiff coach Danny Wilson has pledged a robust welcome for the visitors from across the Severn Bridge: “We won both games earlier in the season and we're top of that pool. We certainly want to go in and fight to stay top of that pool.” The ECC represents Blues best chance of silverware this season. They sit 7th in the Pro 12 (their average position for the last six years) so motivation will be high for a competition where they believe they stand a good chance.