The Mirror rugby correspondent says new coach Eddie Jones is relying on Bath's back line rediscovering their form in this weekend's dead rubber
What George Ford, Jonathan Joseph and Anthony Watson would give for Bath to end their dreadful run of results this weekend.
The last round of European Cup pool matches brings with it a final opportunity for players to stake a claim to Six Nations selection.
The three of them should all make Eddie Jones’ squad to face Scotland on 6 February but as things stand that selection will be based more on reputation than current form.
The one-time West Country giants have lost six of their last eight matches, are out of Europe and down amongst the dead men in the Premiership.
Lose again and messrs Ford, Joseph and Watson will head for England duty short on confidence and with zero momentum.
Not exactly the ideal time, therefore, for Bath to be playing Toulon, champions of Europe for the past three seasons.
When they met a fortnight ago in France, Toulon needed a late penalty goal by Freddie Michalak to snatch victory.
It was Bath’s best performance in a long time, yet still they lost in another defeat to go with those suffered at the hands of Leicester, Northampton, Wasps, Newcastle and Leinster since the end of November.
Northampton duo Tom Wood and Luther Burrell are examples of players who have paid for their failure to shine in a club side short of form having been omitted from Jones’ initial squad.
The Bath boys will be eager to avoid the same fate.
“We make no bones about it, we are very disappointed. We feel we’ve let people down,” said forwards coach Toby Booth.
“We cannot gloss over what is and what is not acceptable.
“That’s why this performance this weekend, despite it being a dead rubber for the competition, is really important. We must give our supporters something to be happy about.”
You can add Eddie Jones to the list of the disappointed.
If he is to pick Ford at fly-half, as he intends, and shift the the red-hot Owen Farrell out of his preferred position to inside-centre, then he needs the Bath playmaker to have a spring in his step.
If he is to favour Joseph over Elliot Daly, the form outside-centre in English club rugby this season, then he requires evidence that he is at least close to the form that made him England’s player of the year in 2015.
And with try-machine Chris Ashton banned from the Six Nations pending any appeal, he has a pressing need to see Watson reacquainted with the try line.
Jones will also have an eye on Llanelli, where Dylan Hartley – whom he plans to appoint as his captain on Monday – continues his comeback from injury for Northampton against Scarlets.
That apart, injuries are his only concern ahead of his 33-man squad assembling at Pennyhill Park on Sunday night.
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