Harlequins head for Europe and the Heineken Cup this weekend trying desperately to keep a lid on expectations, after making the best start to a season ever achieved by an English club.
They host Connacht on Friday night having won their first eight games in the Premiership and 10 in all competitions. Since beating Stade Français in the final of the Amlin Challenge Cup last season they have gone eight games on the road without defeat. Not bad for a side who had previously won just once in 13 months of league action away from the Stoop.
Bath have been something of a bogey club for the Londoners, as their director of rugby, Conor O'Shea, conceded after winning for only the second time in seven visits to the Rec.
"When you come here there is going to be a contest but the confidence is there now," he said, tracing his side's turn in fortunes back to last season's Amlin Challenge Cup semi-final victory over Munster in Limerick. "This is our eighth straight win on the road across last season and this season so it's not bad, because we did struggle away from home. The win in Munster, you can't say how much that meant to the players, and then how we won against Stade in the final where we hung on and won the game."
O'Shea said that thoughts of winning the league had not entered his head, but went on to name some of the players who might see Quins to at least a spot in the play-offs. These included Saturday's try scorers, the full-back Mike Brown and flanker Chris Robshaw, who O'Shea thinks is a certainty to fill the England No7 shirt that has been vacated by Lewis Moody.
"He is a brilliant player," said O'Shea. "He doesn't have to talk too much, he leads from the front and he shows the guys how to do it. He would be a brilliant captain. He would be my choice. He won the Premiership player of the year award a few years ago when he was just 22 and it says a lot about what other players think of him."
O'Shea was particularly sympathetic to Nick Evans, the former All Black who suffered somewhat while his former team-mates were winning the World Cup. "He gets on with it and delivers," said O'Shea. "He made his peace about staying here, but it was obviously emotional for a Kiwi, watching from over here."
Fourteen points the previous week and 16 on Saturday are the evidence of Evans's worth and Bath's director of rugby, Sir Ian McGeechan, was also impressed by the former Otago fly-half's performance. McGeechan has bought an All Black fly-half of his own and Stephen Donald, once of Waikato, was due to arrive on Sunday, exactly two weeks after kicking the penalty that won the Webb Ellis Cup.
Donald's arrival has been delayed by the celebrations that followed and while he will not be rushed into the Bath side, McGeechan knows what he wants from the 27-year-old. "We are hoping he will bring good game management, a bit like Nick Evans showed today. He is a clever player, you don't need to overcomplicate it, you want him to bring what he naturally has and integrate it into what we have."
McGeechan is also excited by the return of Olly Barkley, which is much needed. The former England centre played 25 minutes for the club's second team last week and could be seen on Sunday in Scotland against Glasgow.
Bath Abendanon; Woodburn, Hipkiss, Carraro (Heathcote, 58), Biggs; Vesty, Claassens; Catt (Beech, 63), Mears, Wilson (Perenise, 54), Hooper (capt), Attwood (Caldwell, 54), Skirving (Mercer, 63), Louw, Taylor.
Try Attwood Con Vestey Pens Vestey 2.
Harlequins Brown; Stegmann, Lowe, Turner-Hall, Smith; Evans, Dickson (Care, 59); Marler, Gray (Brooker, 66), Johnston, Kohn, Robson, Fa'asavalu, Robshaw, Easter.
Tries Robshaw, Brown Cons Evans 2 Pens Evans 4.
Referee D Richards (Berkshire) Attendance 12,200.
