Bath Rugby's Jonathan Humphreys says that the whole Bath Rugby squad are fired up for Saturday's Twickenham showdown with Heineken Cup champions London Wasps in the final of the Zurich Premiership (6 pm).
"We are ready for this final," said Jonathan. "The past couple of weeks have been really good and the focus has been exceptional. The coaches have worked really hard to keep us fresh mentally and physically by varying the training and taking us away to Newbury."
"I feel that the tag of underdogs is perhaps a little harsh. Yes, Wasps are the Heineken Cup Champions and they deserve to be so, but we have proven in the league that we possess the mettle for the big occasion and we certainly possess the self belief."
Jonathan believes that finishing top of what has been a long and tough Zurich Premiership league season has served to give Bath Rugby a great boost ahead of the final
"I feel that it was crucially important for us to finish top of the league table. In achieving that goal we can now move forward into the Zurich Premiership final with great confidence."
The former Wales skipper, who has taken to the hallowed turf a couple of times in the colours of the principality, will change in the 'home' dressing room used by the England squad.
"It will be a strange experience to be changing in an England dressing room," said the hooker. "I have heard that they have all kinds of motivational slogans on the walls. However, come the day I am sure that it will be the last thing on my mind as I enter the changing rooms. Twickenham is a wonderful stadium and I am sure that there will be a sea of blue, black and white there to cheer us every inch of the way. We are all really looking forward to it."
So does Jonathan believe that the Wasps players will have a psychological advantage heading into the game due to the fact that they have that big game on the biggest of stages against Toulouse under their belts already?
"Not really. We have plenty of players with big game experience and the youngsters are all really motivated and desperate to make their mark and what better stage to do so than Twickenham. There will be nerves, but we will not be overawed by the occasion as we have faced some pretty big games along the way to reaching this final."
