FIRST-team coach Neal Hatley says that Bath Rugby’s brave performance in defeat to Toulon has reaffirmed their belief that they can compete with the best teams in Europe.

A penalty five minutes from time from fly-half Frederic Michalak secured Toulon a 12-9 victory on Sunday, with Bath pushing the three-time European champions as close as anyone at the Stade Mayol in recent years.

Bath now face another three-time winner as they look to keep their hopes of reaching the knockout stages of the European Champions Cup alive on Saturday when they travel to Leinster.

Mike Ford’s men have endured a tough season so far, winning just five of 12 games in all competitions, and although the Toulon display does not draw a line in the sand, forwards coach Hatley believes it shows exactly what Bath are capable of.

“It’s not a seminal moment but it gave the players the belief they can go to places like that and perform to an unbelievable standard,” said Hatley.

“There’s a bit of a myth about playing away from home in Europe but in the last two seasons I think we have dispelled that a bit.

“We go there with the attitude that there is everything to play for and I think we’ve seen the benefits of that.

“We are very proud of the performance against Toulon but also a bit disappointed. There was a real opportunity for us to do something no one has done for a while.

“It was a very good performance but there is a little bit of a reservation about getting to 70 minutes with the score at 9-9 and had the better of the attacking territory but didn’t manage to win the game.”

Bath were narrowly beaten by Leinster away from home in the quarter-finals of the same competition last season but the Irish giants have failed to hit those same heights this term.

They are bottom of the group, which also includes Wasps, without a win to their name from the opening four rounds.

However, Hatley has warned that anyone writing off Leinster should do so at their peril.

“There’s been a change in the coaching staff but they have still got a lot of world class players there,” said Hatley.

“They still have the likes of Jamie Heaslip, Cian Healy, Sean O’Brien, Dave and Rob Kearney and Ian Madigan. You look at the squad and there are internationals right across the pitch and on the bench too.

“They had a tough time against Wasps in the first game but the games they have lost they have run the opposition close.”