BATH director of rugby Todd Blackadder says that the internal disciplinary hearing which will decide the fate of up to a dozen players, who were allegedly caught streaking and heckling, will be made on Monday.

It has been claimed that several individuals ran naked across the Rec - the club's home ground - while others also aimed chants in the direction of Rhys Priestland and George Ford when they were holding a kicking clinic for children.

Although Blackadder played down the severity of the incident, he was disappointed and said: "We're dealing with it on Monday.

"A couple of players made a decision, which we're going to deal with because we've set really high standards for ourselves.

"I know the guys themselves are really disappointed so we'll deal with it. We take these things really seriously and we've got a responsibility to our game, our supporters, our sponsors and our owner.

"It's not majorly serious but it's serious enough that we're going to deal with it internally. People are dying in Syria every day, this was just a social that got a little bit out of hand but we will sort it out and deal with it."

The episode took the shine away from an improved season by Bath after the West Country outfit secured European Champions Cup qualification.

They ended the campaign with a 27-24 defeat to Sale and, despite having concerns over their away form, Blackadder is positive about next season's prospects.

"Heading into next season, there are lots of upsides for us," he added. "I know our away record is not going to be good enough for top-four but, even against Sale, it showed how close we were.

"We were a couple of millimetres from scoring another try and a couple of bizarre decisions could have turned that game, but we've just got to be more consistent on the road."

Blackadder is not the only person looking forward to the 2017/18 campaign with his opposite number, Sale boss Steve Diamond, insisting that the Sharks are on the right track, despite a frustrating campaign where they finished in 10th position.

"We've got four lads in the England squad, we've got a plethora of lads coming through the ranks and the owners have put their hands in the pocket.

"We're going to be spending more money than we've ever spent on the team. We'll still be a country mile behind the other 11 teams but we've got to get it economically right.

"We've got two signings to announce over the next week or so and I think that we will be a different proposition next year."