BATH have been hitting lumps out of each other in training as they get ready to take out their Heineken Cup frustration at losing to Toulouse on Newport Gwent Dragons, writes Gary Baker.

After the furore of England’s Danny Cipriani being punched to the ground by team-mate Josh Lewsey at Wasps last week, Bath’s squad have been just as rampant.

And, far from condemning their actions, Steve Meehan, head coach at The Recreation Ground, has welcomed it.

Australian Meehan said: “The players have applied themselves very well in training with good enthusiasm. There’s been a few of them who have been following Cipriani and Josh Lewsey.

“There has been a couple of flair-ups this week but it’s just meant there is an edge in training and they want to play. Everyone knows the value of preparation.

“The guys take their training very seriously and if someone compromises that training, whether it is justified or not, and the players react, then they react. It happens and it was nice to see it this week.”

Bath want to hit the Dragons with an almighty backlash after David Skrela’s last-gasp injury time penalty robbed them of a famous victory at last year’s Heineken runners-up.

Key will be the front row where Bath will field two current England internationals - hooker Lee Mears and tight-head prop Matt Stevens - and another ex-England man, David Flatman. Meehan is adamant that this is an area Bath want to dominate on Sunday but the Dragons are struggling with three props on the injured list.

For Mears, however, Sunday’s clash at The Rec will resume a rivalry with Dragons’ skipper Tom Willis, and the 25-times capped 29-year-old, who has just signed a new four-year deal with Bath, cannot wait to face the Kiwi head on: “I’ve looked at them on the video and they are scrummaging pretty well. England v Wales is always going to be a big game, no matter what happens.

“We have looked at how we are going to play our game and take it from there. I played against Tom for England Under-21s. He is a really strong scrummager, thrower in, and has everything an All Black hooker will have.

“I watched him in New Zealand when he used to play for the All Blacks. Then, when he came over here, I thought ‘crikey, the Dragons have got a good acquisition there.”

And Mears has played down the Heineken Cup pool as being, effectively, a shoot-out between Bath and Toulouse: “Definitely not. When you get a Scottish side (Glasgow), a Welsh side and a French side, you know it is going to be a tough old year.

“Obviously we would like to have a backlash after last week and to score two tries against a side, you are going to beat them on the day and we thought, up until the last nine seconds, we had done it.”