THERE may not have been a try, but last weekend's 12-9 victory over Gloucester was undoubtedly one of our finest performances of the season.

It was a compelling match, played at a lightning pace, and went a long way to rectifying what had been a forgettable defeat to Wasps a fortnight ago. The build-up to the match was excellent. JC and Michael Foley put us through our paces and made us focus not just on winning the match, but also on the processes needed to do so. It worked.

The forwards in particular were magnificent in what was a bruising derby match. They must take full credit for laying the rock-solid platform from which we were able to control the match comfortably.

Our pack have claimed some big scalps this season, but perhaps this was the prized one. Gloucester are famed for their forward prowess, but they were denied any quality possession every facet of the game.

Yes, it was a great morale-lifting victory after some frustrating results of late, but we must not get too carried away and lose sight of the tremendous amount of work that still needs to be done.

There are a number of areas that need strengthening if we are to consistently challenge for honours.

It was a little disappointing that we did not cross the Gloucester line for a try when you consider the massive amount of possession and territorial advantage we had. With sides evenly matched in a ferociously competitive Premiership, it is becoming increasingly difficult to break down defences from second or third phase ball. At times against Gloucester, we had seventh and eighth phase ball but did not score.

So there is now an emphasis on attack and that is something we must work on over the coming weeks. Nevertheless, the result has given us confidence that we are on the right track.

The victory against Gloucester marked the halfway point of the season. It has been well documented that we have experienced a disappointing start to our Zurich Premiership campaign and we have certainly lost some matches that we should have won, but it is not all doom and gloom.

We have won all four of our pool matches in the Heineken Cup and have played some fantastic rugby along the way. I feel that we are beginning to turn the corner in what has been an incredibly competitive Premiership, and I'm sure that a couple of victories on the bounce will see us right up there challenging for a top four spot.

We are looking forward to the second half of the campaign starting with a new challenge in the form of the Powergen Cup against London Irish at the Rec tomorrow.

In what has become an extremely congested season, there have been question marks over the merit of an extra Cup competition. I, though, have no doubts. Bath Rugby have a proud tradition in domestic Cup rugby and the fact that there is a place in next season's Heineken Cup as a reward for winning the competition, is incentive enough to take the competition seriously and field our strongest side.

It should be an entertaining match. The Exiles, like ourselves, aspire to play open, attacking rugby as they proved when they visited the Rec in the league last month. Brendan Venter's side are in fine form, having been within the top four in the Premiership this season and seem to be improving as the season goes on.

In Barry Everitt, Irish have an exciting footballing fly half who is pushing Humphries and O'Gara hard for an Ireland place, while former Springbok Naka Drotske adds experience to a useful Irish pack.

As ever, we will not be under-estimating the Exiles' challenge, but it is important that we concentrate on our game plan to deny them any loose ball from which they can counter. Enjoy the game.