Bath head coach Steve Meehan was pleased to see his side rediscover their Guinness Premiership winning ways with victory against Sale.
Head coach sets sights on play-offs
Bath head coach Steve Meehan was pleased to see his side rediscover their Guinness Premiership winning ways with a decisive victory against Sale.
Meehan's men now face a testing three-match run-in, with games against Northampton, Wasps and Leeds in the final stages as they look to secure a play-off spot.
"We were a little bit rusty but it was a good performance leading into Tuesday evening's game with Northampton," said Meehan.
Play-offs
Heineken Cup qualification is now well within Bath's reach, but they need to record three more bonus-point victories to have a realistic shot of making the play-offs.
"Now nothing less than three wins will do," added Meehan. "The reality of it was we had to win today and we did it with five tries and a bonus point, but we've still got to rely on other teams slipping up."
Meehan also played down the injury suffered by playmaker Butch James, adding: "I don't think it's anything serious. We took him off as a precaution."
Meanwhile, after seeing his side's preparations disrupted by the loss of Charlie Hodgson to a virus overnight, Sale head coach Kingsley Jones was frustrated by his side's performance.
"It was probably the best first 20 minutes we've managed away from home for a long time," said Jones. "But then we couldn't get our hands on the ball because of indiscipline.
"A lot of young fellows fronted up but when you get two or three players making basic errors and missing tackles you are going to have problems."
Fears
Jones knows a win against Newcastle on Friday night will do much to ease Sale's relegation fears.
"It's all about winning to be safe, but also about getting some confidence into the team. We are fighting for our lives. This could go to the wire," he added.
"Charlie (Hodgson) will be fresh, Lee Thomas will be fresh, and Newcastle play tomorrow so that's a tough turnaround for them. We've just got to take advantage of that."
