SITTING in temperatures of between minus 140 and minus 170 degrees probably wasn’t what Dave Attwood had in mind as a ‘reward’ for arguably Bath’s stand-out performance of the season so far.

With a short turnaround between Sunday’s stellar 28-5 success at Wasps and tomorrow’s visit of Exeter Chiefs to the Rec (3.15pm) however, that was the reality for the 6ft 7in second row as he and his teammates endured an appointment with a mobile cryotherapy chamber to aid their recovery this week.

And according to the five-times capped England man, any self-satisfaction at the manner of the victory at Adams Park last weekend was at a minimum anyway.

“At the time, it felt it was extremely hard work, not withstanding the score at the end of the game,’’ he told the Wiltshire Times.

“To go somewhere we haven’t won in a while was a good moment, but we came in this week and looked at the video and, in the player-led analysis, we picked up on several things we felt we could do better.

“That’s an exciting place to be. As a squad we’re not going to get carried away. There are things we did last week we felt weren't good enough.’’

Bath were comfortable 37-15 winners over tomorrow’s visiting Chiefs in the LV= Cup two weeks ago, but the Devon men are fifth in the table and, having spent time in the company of their coach Rob Baxter in the summer, Attwood knows better than to believe anything other than another tough assignment awaits the home side tomorrow.

“(It’s a) different time, different competition, same philosophy,’’ he added. “We know what's coming, it’s not going to be any surprise.

“I got to meet Rob Baxter in the summer in Argentina (England tour) and it was good to meet him and find out a bit more about him as a coach.

“He is a very astute character and that shows in the way is team play. They are possibly the best attacking team in the Premiership, they hold on to the ball and do the basic things well.

A dislocated rib on his first outing as Bath captain against London Irish in September wrecked Attwood’s hopes of making a significant impression for England during their autumn Tests, although the plus side was his increased participation for his club during that spell.

“I’m back playing and playing well, I think and it’s an exciting time to be involved with this pack of forwards,’’ he added.

“I would liked to have played more rugby and liked to think if I hadn’t got injured and missed a month, I would have had more of an opportunity for England.

“But if I keep playing well for Bath, then hopefully there will be an opportunity there soon.’’

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