THE increased strength in depth that Bath now possess has shown itself during this period of autumn internationals.

I’ve always marvelled at the art of recruiting by the likes of Leicester in the past and always admired how they did their business, especially given the volume of players they lost to both England and other international teams.

Bath have quietly built up quite an impressive squad and I think you will see the changes this weekend.

Given what happened in the LV= Cup match between the two sides a couple of weeks back, I think you will see Exeter travelling to the Rec tomorrow more in hope, rather than expectation.

That would not always have been the case in the past, but I think the Chiefs really needed to win that cup game a fortnight ago to give them that belief.

I just see Bath winning the game any which way. Their front five are doing the business and they have firepower out wide.

What I like about Bath this season is that no one is saying how they are going to do this or that. If they end up over-achieving this season, then great.

What a wonderful game and great advert for rugby the Ireland-New Zealand match was on Sunday.

It was one of the best games I’ve seen in a long while – you just have to hand it to the All Blacks.

The lesson is there – Test matches don’t last 40 or even 70 minutes. It’s a full 80-minute job.

To be that amount of points down and not panic and work their way back is testament to them.

Ireland came up just short and will be kicking themselves – and I feel devastated for the players.

That group really are Ireland’s ‘golden generation’ and, as well as more Grand Slams and Six Nations titles than they have, they should have had the All Blacks’ scalp.

It’s a huge shame for them and it could take a while to get over because that will probably be the last chance for many of them.

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