It is 10 years since Bath Rugby stood at the top of the pile in Europe - and the class of 2008 look capable of going some way towards matching Andy Nicol's squad of 1998 Heineken Cup winners. Current captain Michael Lipman led his team to within seconds of a famous Round 1 win over treble champions Toulouse at Le Stadium and is confident his team can make a huge impact in Europe again.

They face Newport Gwent Dragons at The Recreation Ground on Sunday with the Welsh region travelling across the border for the Anglo-Welsh clash on the back of a 32-22 opening round victory over Glasgow Warriors. "Heineken rugby is very intense," said Lipman. "It is as close to Test match rugby as you can get and, as such, it's a little mistake here or there which makes the difference between winning and losing.

"We came into this tournament wanting to see where we are at and to test ourselves and having come out of the Toulouse match so close to a victory we certainly feel good about where we are as a side. We are capable of competing with the best in Europe and that is where we want to be."

David Skrela broke Bath hearts with his sixth penalty goal of the match with the last kick of a thriller that earned last season's finalists an 18-16 win to the relief of the majority of those in the crowd of 31,885. "We are happy with the bonus point from Toulouse which has put us in a decent position in the Pool," said Lipman. "But obviously since we went very close to getting so much more from our Round 1 match it's a disappointment not to be at the top of the Pool.

"We are confident in our own ability and felt that we deserved more out of the game against Toulouse. I'm not a sore loser but I think we were very unlucky not to have won that game. We will be taking the positives out of the Toulouse match into our game against the Dragons this weekend.

"Our attacking play has been very good and it is something we have focussed on for a while so it's great to see that hard work come to fruition. "I believe we have one of the best attacking games in Europe and we showed that against Toulouse. We also have a really good work ethic which will stand us in good stead for this week's match.

"The Dragons are very tough opposition. They also have a great work ethic and a very strong team spirit which makes them tough opposition but, having said that, at this level every match is tough. You have to really work hard for every metre of ground and for every point and we are ready to do what we have to do. I'm certainly looking forward to the rematch with Toulouse but this week's match at the Rec against the Dragons is our big focus."

HEINEKEN CUP 2008/09 (All kick-offs LOCAL times)

ROUND 2

FRIDAY 17 OCTOBER, 2008

Pool 5 Glasgow Warriors v Toulouse 20.00 Alan Lewis (I) Sky Sports / Canal+ Sport / Sky Italia

SATURDAY 18 OCTOBER, 2008

Pool 2 Castres Olympique v Edinburgh 18.30 Andrew Small (E) Canal+ Sport / Sky Sports**

Pool 2 Leinster v London Wasps 17.30 Nigel Owens (W) Sky Sports / RTE* / Sky Italia

Pool 3 Benetton Treviso v Leicester Tigers 14.35 Romain Poite (F) Sky Italia / Sky Sports**

Pool 3 Ospreys v Perpignan 15.30 Wayne Barnes (E) Sky Sports / France 2

Pool 4 Stade Français Paris v Scarlets 14.35 Peter Allan (S) Canal+ / Sky Sports

Pool 4 Harlequins v Ulster Rugby 15.00 Tim Hayes (W)

Pool 6 Biarritz Olympique v Rugby Calvisano 18.00 Andy McPherson (S)

SUNDAY 19 OCTOBER, 2008

Pool 1 Montauban v ASM Clermont Auvergne 16.00 Chris White (E) France 2

Pool 1 Sale Sharks v Munster 13.00 Christophe Berdos (F) Sky Sports / Sport+*** / RTE*

Pool 5 Bath Rugby v Newport Gwent Dragons 13.00 Carlo Damasco (It) S4C* / Sky Sports**

Pool 6 Cardiff Blues v Gloucester Rugby 15.00 Alain Rolland (I) Sky Sports / Sky Italia

* Delayed highlights ** Red button *** Delayed