Biarritz 18 Bath 9

Not unexpectedly, Bath's European campaign is over at the semi-final stage, their hopes washed away by the driving rain in the north of Spain. And yet, the frustrating thing is that they weren't actually that far away from winning it. Biarritz's rock-solid defence was outstanding but it was the continuous concession of silly penalties that eventually closed the door. The home side's outstanding scrum-half Dimitri Yachvili kicked five penalties and Bath were unable to respond but were certainly never humiliated.

Frustratingly, the club will not qualify for next season's Heineken Cup as a result of their abysmal form in the league earlier in the season . The turnaround since Brian Ashton's arrival has been phenomenal and I suspect that if he were to stay, really exciting times at the Rec would be just around the corner. But England will come calling and no coach can turn his country down.

The rain has made its way over the Channel and ensured the abandonment of our pre-season friendly today. Winford's ground is waterlogged, meaning that a number of our players will go into the League season proper next week having had no kind of practice whatsoever for about eight months. Grrr.....