A battalion of statistics suggest Bath Rugby are bristling with a new-found belief and are poised to make an assault on the highest reaches of the Premiership.

With eight wins out of their last nine games in all competitions, Bath have undergone a change from hobbling also-rans in the Aviva Premiership to souped-up thoroughbreds spurred on by the scent of glory.

Olly Barkley's confidence with the boot is sky high after landing his last 15 efforts on goal, while Matt Banahan has run in an incredible seven tries in his last two games on home soil.

And after a lamentable start to the season that saw Bath prop up the table for the number of lineouts won, the blue, black and white set-piece is now functioning with a Teutonic efficiency that has lifted them to mid-table in the stats list.

These figures point to one thing: that the Bath Rugby players, both individually and collectively, are on an upward curve which – for the moment at least – shows no sign of abating.

Form can ebb away just as quickly as it arrives – just ask Northampton, who are experiencing a nosedive of such dizzying proportions that it would make a Red Arrows squadron leader jittery.

Bath have been winning pretty one week and they've been winning ugly the next.

There are a number of prongs to their attacking arsenal now and they have rediscovered the art of scraping narrow wins in unpleasant conditions. Think of the five-try demolition of Northampton on one hand and think the win at a soggy Edgeley Park on the other.

The club's director of rugby, Sir Ian McGeechan, spoke this week of the club finding a stronger sense of spirit and intent.

If you are looking for a personification of that intent, then number eight Simon Taylor is a pretty good example. The British and Irish Lion hunted down his quarry all evening against Exeter, putting in an incredible 27 tackles.

According to McGeechan the backrow between them put in 53 hits – another outstanding statistic.

The Bath loose forwards have been in terrific form in recent weeks, so much so that even the absence of as august a player as Lewis Moody has been little-noticed.

Skipper Luke Watson continues to make carries that confound his size, while Ben Skirving has been a revelation over the past two months. Like Watson, he possesses thrust with ball in hand and bone-juddering consistency in defence.

Skirving's performances have not gone unnoticed by the Bath management and they will be hoping to agree terms with him on a new contract swiftly.

On-song Gloucester will offer a stern test at Kingsholm this weekend. But when the Bath battle bus rolls into town on Saturday, the men on board should be a confident bunch.