Heineken Cup
Bath v Newport Gwent Dragons
Scrum.com
October 18, 2008
Nick Abendanon of Bath in action during the Guinness Premiership Semi Final match between London Wasps and Bath at Adams Park in High Wycombe, England on May 18, 2008.
Nick Abendanon starts for Bath, and will be hoping for a better return for his efforts in this round © Getty Images
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Tournaments/Tours: Heineken Cup | Heineken Cup
Teams: Bath Rugby | Dragons

After suffering a last second defeat to Toulouse last weekend, Bath Rugby return to The Rec to face Newport Gwent Dragons on Sunday aiming to put in another exhilarating performance, but to this time come away with a win.

Forwards coach Mark Bakewell said, "I think that no one could dispute the intensity that our guys played with and the willingness to take Toulouse on. You will never ever hear a harsh word about that side of it."

After Bath took the game to Toulouse last weekend, Bakewell believes that Newport will come to The Rec with the same mindset, "We went with an attitude to Toulouse whereby we were going to throw everything at them, we had nothing to lose and we believed we could win and I think Newport Gwent Dragons will come with the same attitude.

"They will come here with a positive mindset and try and put us off our game in an attempt to play their own game. It will be different in the sense that they have different structures to the way they do things - in some areas simpler systems and in other areas more complex, but they will try and apply the way they play. We have to be ready for that."

Dragons Head Coach Paul Turner has announced a strong side for the clash following their opening round victory over Glasgow. It is the first time in four weeks that the Dragons have been on the road, having celebrated three consecutive home victories.

Turner has praised the bravery and resolve that the players have demonstrated in recent games and urges the fans to get behind the team this weekend to inspire a fifth successive victory against the Premiership leaders at Bath this weekend.

He said, "I was thrilled that we began our Heineken Cup campaign with a certain edge about us at home last weekend as the players put their all into the victory over Glasgow.

"I've praised the boys for the effort and bravery that they have put in on the pitch. I believe that the squad has positively strengthened and we have seen some tremendous performances from individuals in recent games. Travelling to Bath this weekend will pose a huge challenge for the team in arguably the toughest rugby competition of the season and similarly the next five games will be against some of the best teams in Europe.

"The team have proved that they can win away from home and I urge the fans to get behind the team for the tough encounters we have ahead. The players proved against Ulster last month that anything is possible and I'm confident that the players will take this belief with them to Bath on the weekend."

Bath Rugby: Nick Abendanon, Joe Maddock, Alex Crockett, Shaun Berne, Matt Banahan, Butch James, Michael Claassens, David Flatman, Lee Mears, Matt Stevens, Justin Harrison, Peter Short, Stuart Hooper, Michael Lipman, Jonny Faamatuainu

Replacements: Pieter Dixon, Duncan Bell, David Barnes, James Scaysbrook, Scott Bemand, Shontayne Hape, Andrew Higgins

Newport Gwent Dragons: Phil Dollman, Gareth Wyatt, Rory Sidey, Marc Stcherbina, Richard Fussell, James Arlidge, Wayne Evans, Adam Black, Tom Willis (c), Rhys Thomas, Adam Jones, Luke Charteris, Joe Bearman, Colin Charvis, Lewis Evans,

Replacements: Steve Jones, Aaron Coundley, Grant Webb, Andrew Hall, Rob Lewis, Shaun Connor, Ashley Smith

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