Slings and arrows make Bath bullish

Bath v Leinster,  Recreation Ground, kick-off 1 pm: The word 'if' punctuates much of the conversation emanating from the Bath camp this week. Shorn, by injury, of major players and backed into a corner in terms of their Heineken European Cup aspirations, it is little wonder that the English club are slightly bullish about their chances today.

Whether they can offer something more substantial than merely rugby's equivalent of whistling past the graveyard remains to be seen but the fight will be all about the honesty and integrity of their challenge.

If Bath fail to win then their tournament race is effectively run. Even in victory they'll need to secure a bonus point to provide substance to their trip to Bourgoin next week. The backdrop hardly augurs well with the club lamenting the absence of 13 players through either injury or registration issues.

Bath are missing four to five first choice players in England international Mike Tindall (foot and shoulder), Andrew Higgins (ankle) or Lee Best (groin) - they don't usually play together - Springbok Robbie Fleck, David Flatman (Achilles) and Spencer Davey (knee). The rest of the absentees make up the supporting cast rather than the principals.

Bath are stretched, so much so that Michael Lipman, one of the top openside flankers in England could end up playing on the wing if the need arises. In those circumstances a sense of humour is a cherished quality.

The Australian-born England international smiled: "One of the guys asked me on the training paddock who I wanted to play opposite this weekend, Shane Horgan or Denis Hickie? My first thought was: one is quick and the other is quick and big, so does it really matter? Joking aside, I'm looking forward to it if I end up going out there on the wing. It will be something new for me."

There is a collective resolve within the home squad to make the best of a difficult situation. Lipman admitted: "We haven't got many people available to put a side together, so everybody is determined to do whatever the coaching staff asks of them. If that means I have to play on the wing at some stage during the game, I'll give it everything because we know we have to win the game to stay alive."

It's a commendable attitude but the stark facts that govern this contest are that Bath face a Leinster side who purport to be potential European champions. The Irish province received a timely wake-up call in their last outing, the Celtic League clash with Munster at Musgrave Park.

Leinster lost that day because their set-piece play was substandard and they failed to retain possession for any length of time. In the interim coach Declan Kidney, his assistant Bobby Byrne and scrum guru Roly Meates will have identified and in all probability rectified the shortcomings. They'll need to because that's where Bath's strength lies and if the visitors don't improve from the last day then they'll be vulnerable.

The Irish province have a surfeit of ability behind the scrum; all that's required is the platform. One senses that the belief in this Leinster team should have grown from their away victory in Bourgoin. The Irish province need to genuinely believe rather then hope that they will win this match.

It'll be about patience, precision and shifting through the gears, rather than trying to go from first to fifth. There can be no fear of losing. This match is all about who Leinster want to be as a team. Who faces them in Bath colours shouldn't matter one iota.

BATH: M Perry; J Maddock, A Crockett, O Barkley, B Daniel; C Malone, N Walshe; D Barnes, J Humphreys (capt), D Bell; S Borthwick, D Grewcock; A Beattie, I Feaunati, M Lipman. Replacements: D Ward, M Stevens, R Fidler, J Scaysbrook, C Loader, G Lewis, M Baxter.

LEINSTER: G Dempsey; S Horgan, B O'Driscoll, G D'Arcy, D Hickie; D Holwell, G Easterby; R Corrigan (capt), S Byrne, E Byrne; L Cullen, M O'Kelly; E Miller, V Costello, S Jennings. Replacements: R Nebbett, D Blaney, C Potts, A McCullen, B O'Meara, F Contepomi, K Lewis.

Referee: Joel Jutge (France).

EC Formguide (2004-2005): Bath - bt Bourgoin (h) 22-12; lost to Leinster (a) 11-30; lost to Treviso (a) 23-29; bt Treviso (h) 47-7. Leinster - bt Treviso (a) 25-9; bt Bath (h) 30-11; bt Bourgoin (h) 92-17; bt Bourgoin (a) 26-23.

Previous meeting (EC 2004-2005): Leinster 30 Bath 11.

Leading points scorers: Bath - Ollie Barkley 48. Leinster - David Holwell 67.

Leading try scorers: Bath - Andy Beattie 2. Leinster - Shane Horgan 4.

Verdict: Leinster.