Relatively few players have moved in either direction between the Leicester and Bath rugby clubs – undoubtedly the fiercest of rivals in the latter years of the amateur era.

That rivalry has persisted throughout the first decade and a half of professionalism, even though Wasps have supplanted Bath in terms of comparing their trophy cabinet contents to the Welford Road silverware hoard.

While Scott Bemand is the most recent player to switch to the Rec from the Tigers, it was the 'defection' of Dan Lyle to Leicester several years ago that caused quite a shock on the banks of the Avon.

Then, after a very short spell in the East Midlands, Dan saw the error of his ways and even apologised for his temporary insanity to the Bath faithful upon his return to The Rec – with his tongue firmly in his cheek, no doubt!

If that 'transfer' of loyalties was greeted with mild disbelief, then it was nothing compared to the minor earthquake that the news of Lewis Moody's impending move caused at the end of last week.

Whatever the actual facts of Moody's eventually unproductive contractual negotiations with Leicester, the signing is clearly a significant statement of intent by Bath. In itself, along with Tom Biggs and other new faces yet to be revealed, the capture of Moody and the contract renewals of some key squad members auger well for next season.

This future promise also adds to the momentum established by the much-improved second half of the season to date.

How satisfying is it now to be able to contemplate the end of the season from a position of hope, or even anticipation, when only a few weeks ago some supporters were in despair and even the more robust amongst us were beginning to worry about when the tide of losing was finally going to turn.

The recent run of excellent results and a return to much more enjoyable rugby – for the players as well as the watchers – continued up in the North East on Sunday with a hard-fought victory at Kingston Park.

While three tries to one usually indicates a fairly comfortable margin, the match was not in the bag until the final whistle. However, after the close run thing at Sarries balanced out the last-minute loss at Northampton, I am now much more confident that we believe we will prevail in such tight contests.

The restoration of collective confidence and self-belief is now apparent in the team's ability to change gear – or direction – when necessary during a game, ingredients that were missing earlier in the season. Down by five points at half-time, Bath stepped up the tempo after the break, helped considerably by the introduction of a fresh all-international front row.

Despite the loss of Matt Stevens, our strengths at the coalface have not been diminished and there is younger talent available to sustain that through the next few years. No need then, Martin, for the 'uncontested scrums tactic' yet!

One bright spot for me amongst the troubles of autumn 2009 has been the genuinely amusing and insightful articles which David Flatman has produced consistently for the Independent on Sunday.

Whether playing or merely watching it is not always easy to hit upon an appropriate theme for a weekly comment column; match-reporting is a much more straightforward task.

But Flats' efforts in print, allied to his meaningful contributions to Sky's 'Front Row' analysis, may point towards a potential career as a media pundit once he hangs up his boots.

His writings and expert comments certainly gainsay the stereotypical image of props as not being particularly noted for their eloquence.

It is still a mystery to me how the England coaches think they can manage without him on the pitch – let alone not benefiting from his intelligent contributions to training and tactical discussions.

Ah, hang on, maybe I have just spotted the flaw in my own reasoning.

Sorry, Flats, it seems that thinking out loud is, sadly, unfashionable at Twickenham right now – maybe even thinking at all.