Bath boosted ahead of crucial encounter

After losing to Ulster at the weekend, Bath were in need of good news and they received just that when Meehan put pen to paper on a two-year extension.

Meehan joined Bath Rugby in 2006 after leaving his position as assistant coach job at Sunday's opponents Stade Francais.

In December 2006 Meehan became permanent head coach at the former Heineken Cup winners and has since gone on to lead Bath to the European Challenge Cup crown in 2008, their first silverware in 10 years.

Although Bath have not had the best start to this season, having lost their opening Heineken Cup match 26-12 at Ravenhill while currently sitting in seventh position in the Guinness Premiership, Meehan believes that his club can do a lot better.

"The immediate goal is to find the solutions that put us back at the top and then longer term to help the club maintain the recently established values that will keep us there," said Meehan, who began his coaching career with Queensland in his native Australia in 1999.

"I'm very happy to be staying and to continue working with these players, this club, and its supporters is a real privilege.

"I think we have the squad, coaches and support team to be regularly finishing in the top four of the Guinness Premiership and challenging for major honors, domestically and on the European stage, over the next few years."

That challenge begins again in six days time when Bath host one of the giants of the European game knowing another defeat would make qualification for the knockout stages most unlikely.