Steve Meehan pinpointed Olly Barkley's partnership with Butch James as the engine room powering Bath's rise.
Bath hoping to re-sign fly-half
Winger Matt Banahan scored a hat-trick but Bath head coach Steve Meehan pinpointed Olly Barkley's partnership with Butch James as the engine room powering the club's rise to the top of the Guinness Premiership.
Meehan's team overhauled Gloucester - for 24 hours at least - with a 41-10 win over struggling Leeds.
Meehan commented: "Barkley played well, as he has done since he returned from the World Cup.
"The way he has integrated with the team has improved and the partnership with Butch James has worked to his benefit, perhaps because we've got more threats across the whole team at the moment."
Barkley is one of a number of players out of contract at the end of the season and Meehan added: "We've spoken recently and now it's in the hands of agents and clubs, I certainly hope he will re-sign."
Positively
As for the overall performance against the struggling Tykes, Meehan added: "We missed a couple of opportunities in the first half when we kicked the ball away. But we played a little more positively in the first half and it paid off."
Leeds director of rugby Stuart Lancaster admitted: "Quite a lot of credit must go to Bath, who were exceptional today.
"They are as good a side as we have played all season. They've got pace and power and good footballers who give them width.
"In a lot of areas, we competed well but we got into a slight catch-up game and, as we tired, they brought on fresh players.
"We came up against a side that is playing really well."
