OJO'S INSIDE LINE: Success is all in the mind (From Wiltshire Times)

OJO'S INSIDE LINE: Success is all in the mind

3:30pm Friday 2nd November 2012 in Sport

AS A professional sportsman, you can train twice a day and spend as much time as you want working on your game but it’s funny how much of what happens in a game is down to mental strength.

On Saturday, even when they were on top of the game in the second half, it was as if the Exeter Chiefs knew that they hadn’t beaten Bath for 34 years and they almost said ‘no-one expects us to win this game’.

The flipside of the coin was that Bath had to defend well and they managed to do that – for me it was massive for Bath to carry on moving in the right direction and they need to keep to winning their home games.

I think that Dan Hipkiss may be a little bit embarrassed about his sending off but the important thing is that his team went on to get the result and no-one is really talking about it.

Like a lot of people, I’m not expecting huge things from Bath this season because they’re a side in development while the likes of Leicester, Northampton, Saracens and Quins are a long way down the road. But I still expect them to be there at what I like to call the top of the middle of the table.

Some of the old boys may say that games in the Premiership have had basketball scores so far this season but I have to say that I’m really enjoying it.

All of the teams seems to be playing attacking games and rather than thinking ‘how can we stop x,y or z’, they’re thinking ‘how can we get in behind this team’ or whatever else.

The televised game between Gloucester and Leicester was fantastic and I think that this will all end up being a positive thing for England going in to the autumn internationals.

Players will come in to international rugby with this attacking style.

• Let Steve know your thoughts via wiltshiretimes.co.uk or ohoulihan@newswilts.co.uk