Bath Rugby will head to Headingley Carnegie this Sunday following the announcement that their star fly half Olly Barkley will leave the club at the end of the season to join rivals Gloucester.
Admitting yesterday that the decision was an incredibly difficult one to come to, he emphasised the impact the club has had upon him: "The club has played such a massive part in my life and everyone at Bath has been a great support to me as a player and as a person. I have the greatest respect for the players, coaches and support staff and I didn't, by any means, make my decision lightly."
With Bath remaining in the upper tiers of the Guinness Premiership and remaining confident that further success is around the corner, Olly confirmed that he would continue with 100% commitment to the club until the end of the season: "I am determined to make this my best season for Bath and to help bring home some silverware."
With the inevitable question surrounding the timing of his decision to depart with Bath playing the most successful and exciting rugby the west country side has seen for a number of years, he was quick to explain: "Although I do believe Bath are going to go on to do great things, I feel that it is the right time for me to take on new challenges and explore other avenues in my career."
Speaking yesterday, Head Coach Steve Meehan had no doubt that Olly would remain fully committed to the end of the season: "I am positive that Olly's efforts and commitment will continue until he departs. However, I am surprised. When you consider how far the team has come in last 18 months, the style of rugby we are playing, how involved he has been in its evolution and the relationship he has developed with Butch. We will however continue to strengthen the club and ensure that the club continues to play attractive, successful rugby."
Echoing Meehan's sentiments, Chief Executive Bob Calleja added: "Olly is a lovable rogue and a very talented player. His departure will leave a gap, but this provides a great opportunity for the player who replaces him."
Simon Halliday, spoke earlier today of his disappointment of the departure of the centre saying: "We have to respect Olly's reasons for his decision. He has given many years of loyal service to Bath for which we thank him and he has committed himself to try to help the club win a trophy this season. At an individual level, we wish him all the best for his future international career which is surely still ahead of him.
"Olly's departure is a setback but will not deflect us from achieving our goal to regain our position as one of the leading clubs in European rugby. We have a number of new signings to announce, and will continue to strengthen the squad with the above goals in mind."
Bath Rugby will look to get back to winning ways in the Guinness Premiership on Sunday when they travel up to Headingley Carngie (kick-off 3.00pm).
Outside centre Alex Crockett retains the captaincy from last weekend's game against London Wasps. Michael Claassens and Barkley form the half-back pairing with Joe Maddock and Matt Banahan on the wings and Nick Abendanon at fullback.
Following his successful return for a Bath Development XV on Monday, prop Duncan Bell completes his comeback from injury to start in the front row with David Barnes and Pieter Dixon.
England call-ups mean that Bath are without the services of Matt Stevens, Steve Borthwick, Lee Mears and Michael Lipman.
Bath Rugby defence and skills coach Brad Davis is looking for the blue, black and whites to put things right after last weekend:
"I'm really looking forward to the game on a couple of fronts. I'm looking forward to the game coming round after the disappointing display against Wasps, so it's a chance to put things right there, and I am looking forward to going back up to rugby league country. Headingley Carnegie is a great rugby pitch - it has a lot of history and it should have a lot of atmosphere. It's going to be a great game."
"We have looked hard at our defence. For 15 minutes in the second half of the match against Wasps we really went away from what we are about, so we have addressed those issues and we have got an opportunity to put it right, and I have no doubts that we will do so. We understand that Leeds are going to be very desperate for a win, they are adrift at the bottom of the table - it's a final for them, so we really need to be on our guard."
Bath Rugby side to face Leeds Carnegie
15 Nick Abendanon
14 Joe Maddock
13 Alex Crockett (c)
12 Eliota Fuimaono-Sapolu
11 Matt Banahan
10 Olly Barkley
9 Michael Claassens
1 David Barnes
2 Pieter Dixon
3 Duncan Bell
4 Peter Short
5 Danny Grewcock
6 Andy Beattie
7 Jonny Faamatuainu
8 Daniel Browne
16 Rob Hawkins
17 Aaron Jarvis
18 Martin Purdy
19 Chris Goodman
20 Mike Baxter
21 Shaun Berne
22 Michael Stephenson