DIRECTOR of rugby Todd Blackadder is keen to see a big response from Bath as they prepare to face Aviva Premiership leaders Wasps tomorrow (3pm).

Bath head into the contest on the back of a narrow defeat at the hands of local rivals Bristol, with the league’s bottom side sneaking home 12-11 at Ashton Gate last Sunday.

Although Blackadder took positives from the performance, the New Zealander is well aware that is results that matter as his fourth-placed team look to qualify for the end-of-season play-offs.

Wasps have lost just three times in their opening 16 Premiership fixtures but Blackadder hopes the return of some international quality to club duty will help Bath add to that tally at The Rec on Saturday.

“We are disappointed. We set really high standards for ourselves and there were some parts we did really well, our set-piece was brilliant and a huge amount of defence went into the game, but we just turned over a lot of ball.

“What’s more important is not what’s happened but what you do next so we are looking forward to a good response from the guys.

“I felt really proud of the forwards, they have put a lot of work into their set-piece in the last month and it was good to see all that get transferred onto the field but it’s bittersweet because we live and die by the outcomes unfortunately, so while there was a lot of good work going on, to lose was disappointing.

“We have got Luke Charteris back and Taulupe Faletau back along with Anthony Watson this week, so we are just delighted to have some guys returning to boost the team to give us a better chance of winning.”