Jarvis: I can't wait for that Bath clash

NEW signing Adrian Jarvis cannot wait to taste his first ever Bristol-Bath derby in 10 days time at the Memorial Stadium.

The 24-year-old fly-half – one of the club's two major summer acquisitions – is expected to be head coach Richard Hill's new on-field general and should start at No 10 in the Guinness Premiership opener.

He has faced several London derbies during his time at Harlequins – but he says those clashes pale into insignificance when it comes to the famous West Country contests.

Jarvis said: "It's only 10 days away now. Depending on selection, I cannot wait to get out there and get started.

"It is a local derby - the local derby. It will be my first experience of the game so I am looking forward to that.

"There's a lot of tradition that goes with it. There should be a good atmosphere in the crowd, which is a good thing for the start of the season."

Bath, who finished third last term but failed to make any impact on the play-offs, have had a better pre-season compared to Bristol.

Head coach Steve Meehan's side beat Ulster 15-7 and Llanelli Scarlets 24-16 while former England and Bath boss Andy Robinson brings his Edinburgh outfit to the Recreation Ground tomorrow night (6.30pm).

By comparison, Bristol have lost to First Division team Exeter Chiefs 15-6 before bouncing back with a 15-12 victory over Glasgow Warriors.

But Jarvis believes Bristol are improving minute by minute and the club do not go into the September 7 clash as underdogs.

The England Saxons international added: "It should be a very intense first game of the season. They had a great season last term. They are a very strong side.

"We are looking forward to the challenge. I don't know whether we are underdogs or not.

"We've built from our first pre-season friendly. I'm sure they will be learning the same things as we are.

"With also the new ELVs (13 new laws are now on trial for a year at all levels) being used for the first time in a competitive match it is going to be a quite open match."

Jarvis should again lead the backline when Bristol bring their pre-season programme to a close at Newport on Saturday (2.30pm).

Bristol, whose second team have crushed Pontypool 43-3 and a Bristol Combination XV 67-3, have yet to register a try this pre-season at first team level.

But he added: "In terms of our attack, we need to be a bit more threatening. We haven't scored a try yet.

"That's just something we have to do. We have made steps forward this pre-season. The next step is to get the attack really flowing.

"Our first aim remains to win the game. You build confidence after claiming wins. But obviously we want to be scoring tries rather than kicking the goals.

"Part of the reason is we just have to get used to playing together, learning what each other does in terms of offloads and support running lines."