BATH Rugby head coach Mike Ford says there is no better preparation for the Aviva Premiership play-offs that a derby date against Gloucester.

Ford’s side booked a semi-final spot with a 27-26 win at Harlequins on Friday and were then guaranteed a top-two finish when Saracens were beaten at home by Exeter Chiefs two days later.

Bath round of their regular season at The Rec on Saturday in the West County derby but Ford has no intention of resting his top stars with the play-offs in mind and says it his vital they maintain their momentum.

“It’s the perfect game before a semi-final,” said Ford.

“I never really expected Saracens to lose at home but that result aside, we’d still have had it in our hands going into the final week and that’s all we wanted when we set out for the Quins game.

“What last weekend has done is give us two weeks preparation for the semi-final and hopefully that will help us.

“It doesn’t change anything for us. It’s a derby game and we know how important it is for our fans.

“We still need to pick a strong side. We want to play play-off football this weekend.

“The players don’t need a rest. We’ve had a couple of weekends off in the last month. If they are not 100 per cent, they won’t play because we don’t need them to play but otherwise, we will go as strong as we can.

“It’s important for our development to play in these big games so we can get better at understanding what needs to be done to win them and whenever it is in the season, Bath v Gloucester is a big game.”

Bath may be flying high in the league but Gloucester are languishing down in ninth and can finish no higher than eighth, even with a win this weekend.

However, the Cherry and Whites have already got their hands on silverware this season by lifting the European Rugby Challenge Cup earlier this month.

Bath have won their last four Premiership meetings against Gloucester, although the last at The Rec ended in a narrow 15-13 home win, and Ford expects a similarly tough test this weekend.

“Last season, they had been a bit indifferent but they came here and were probably a bit unlucky not to win. I think they were probably the better side,” added Ford.

“The form book goes out of the window for games like this. What has happened before does not mean anything.

“We are playing a Gloucester side who have just won a trophy and will be high on confidence, so it’s going to be a massive test for us.”