Although the U20 squad that included Bath's Nathan Catt, Billy Moss and newcomer Scott Hobson failed to clinch the JWC title, the skill demonstrated by the three in the Welsh tournament gives Bath a lot to be proud of and with pre-season training rapidly approaching, head coach Steve Meehan is feeling confident with the squad for next season, especially with the prospect of the new signings making their mark.

"Justin Harrison and Stuart Hooper will be coming into our tight five with Scott Hobson," said Meehan. "We also have Scott Bemand arriving who has tremendous speed and when you add that to the way that we have been playing - that will be a great asset to us. He is a great competitor and will go head to head with Michael Claassens."

Meehan is clearly excited by the prospect of helping bring these players through, and said: "I am pretty comfortable with where we are at the moment. This team hasn't matured yet and has not reached its full potential."

"On top of that we now have the salary cap that we are told is going to be policed rigorously. This determines what you can bring in and what you can't. What people don't realise is that everything comes out of the salary cap, the administration of getting players, the agents' fees etc. It is not just what we pay the players.

"Management of squads takes time - it can take two, three years. It doesn't happen overnight. The challenges are there, I know we can improve - we are going to have to if we are going to end up in the top four again and I believe that with the players coming in, we will be in a position to do that."