We Must Win Both - Humphreys

But Humphreys, the former Wales and Cardiff captain who played in the first Heineken Cup final when the Welsh club were beaten 21-18 in extra time by Toulouse, accepts that 1998 Heineken Cup winners Bath must win their final two Pool 2 fixtures to have any hope of making the prestigious quarter-finals.

"Being realistic, to have any chance of getting through to the last eight we need to win both our remaining games, against Leinster and Bourgoin," said the 35-year-old hooker and Bath Rugby captain.

"Leinster - who still have a home game against Benetton Treviso to come in Round 6 - are obviously the clear Pool favourites and our aim is to at least finish runners-up and with as many points as possible to go through as either the No 7 or 8 seeds.

"Leinster are a very good outfit indeed and, although we had a lot of ball and a few chances in the Round 2 match in Dublin, Brian O'Driscoll and Gordon D'Arcy were excellent in the midfield for them.

"They are huge factors in the team - both going forward and defensively.

"However, we are confident we can give them a good game in Bath. They did match us up front in Dublin but I am sure they know it is going to be tough at The Rec. Naturally it is another sell-out and the atmosphere at the ground is unbelievable."

With the road to the 10th anniversary Heineken Cup final in Edinburgh on Sunday, 22 May getting shorter and shorter, Humphreys still has great memories of that first final played in front of a 21,800 crowd at the old Cardiff Arms Park on 6 January, 1996.

"It was a fantastic experience - though at the time I don't think anyone realised just how big the tournament would become, or how much it would mean to everyone involved with club rugby in Europe," he said.

"The Heineken Cup is a step up in intensity and another step closer to international rugby than the domestic tournaments.

"The Zurich Premiership is a very competitive environment but for those Bath players experiencing the Heineken Cup for the first time, perhaps the Leinster game caught a few of them by surprise."
Humphreys, who made 37 Heineken Cup appearances for Cardiff, has seen at first hand the development of the tournament over the past decade - but is adamant that this is his last season.

"Come the end of the season and that will be it for me," he said. "It was always going to be that way when I joined Bath on a two-year contract and nothing has changed.
"I would love to finish on a high with Bath - winning something - and there is no way I will be tempted to have another season anywhere else."