BATH scrum-half Gareth Cooper is fighting fit and ready to show he is the rightful international successor to Welsh legend Rob Howley his rugby hero.

And there would be no better time for Cooper to prove his worth than when he goes head-to-head with the great man in the televised Zurich Premiership clash against Wasps at the Rec tomorrow (2pm).

Howley's departure from the international scene has opened the door to a clutch of young Welsh scrum-halves all dying to fill the famous red No 9 jersey.

Cooper is tipped to be at the head of that list not least by Howley himself but after two years of injury hell, the Bath man reckons cementing his club place is a challenge in itself.

"Rob's been my hero since he started playing for Wales and I've tried to follow a lot of things he has done,'' said the 23-year-old.

"He's been pretty supportive of me too in the Welsh squad and I look forward to playing against him.''

Wales face an autumn test series against Fiji, Canada and the mighty All Blacks, so Cooper's return to action couldn't have been more timely to impress his national team chief Steve Hansen.

But he insisted: "I'm just concentrating on keeping hold of my Bath place.

"If it does come along, then I'll think about it but there will be three or four good scrum-halves battling for the place here so I have to get my game. I just want to be No 1 here.''

Cooper recovered from a shoulder knock picked up in pre-season to play in the defeat at Saracens.

"It's abeen a long time since I played fit,'' he said.

"The last time that happened was the first three games of last season and since then I've been troubled with injuries.''

He added: "It was as difficult game to come back to because we lost.

"I wasn't totally happy with my game, but I was pleased to come through.

"I have to get games under my belt and improve with each one as season goes on.

Bath will decide which of Mike Catt, Chris Malone and Olly Barkley drops to the bench for their opening home clash as Ireland's Kevin Maggs returns to the centre to partner Mike Tindall.

But the decision could be made for them if Barkley, who has scored all but three of Bath's 27 points so far this season, fails to recover from a slight training-ground knock.

Team director Mike Foley said: "It's not a long-term thing, but when you are talking about goalkicking, you need to be at your best.

"We will give him until as late as possible to prove his fitness, but we're trying not to play anyone who doesn't feel comfortable.''

Last season's skipper Dan Lyle will start in the back row, after coming on at Vicarage Road.

Wasps coach Warren Gatland has named Phil Greening at flanker for the match. Lawrence Dallaglio captains the side.

TEAM: Lewsey, Roiser, Abbott, Denney, Logan, King, Howley, Dowd, Leota, Molloy, Shaw, Beardshaw, Worsley, Greening, Dallaglio (c). Subs: Gotting, Green, Birkett, Volley, Biljon, Wigram, Sampson.