Michael Claassens does not go in for self-congratulation. The very model of modesty, the South African was anxious for the plaudits to go to others following the New Year's Day flogging of London Irish.

He may have been named ESPN's man-of-the-match for a display that displayed a Churchillian workrate and world-class game management but the Bath Rugby scrum-half was typically measured after the dust – and mud – had settled.

"When the conditions are like they were, the forwards win or lose you the game," said Claassens. "They laid an awesome platform for us which was so easy to kick and play off."

That 'us' denotes Claassens and his new half-back partner, Stephen Donald. On Sunday, the duo hinted at just what a potent partnership they could forge. The post-Butch James era at Bath was always going to be a tricky one for Claassens, given the strength of his relationship with his fellow Springbok, but there now appears to be another World Cup winner with whom he is more than capable of working in tandem.

"Any nine and ten combination takes a few games for the players to get used to each other," said Claassens.

"Stephen's a world-class player and it [our communication] was definitely better against Irish but credit to the forwards – they made it easy for Stephen and me. It was a great team performance.

"I'm always going to miss Butch as a friend – we are still great mates – but it's good to play with new guys and it's nice to play with someone like Stephen from New Zealand."

Claassens' own display on New Year's Day illustrated, in microcosm, Bath's wider fortunes. In the weeks leading up to the match, both he and the team had looked low on belief and curiously blunt. On Sunday, they looked revived and reinvigorated, the rapier once again whetted.

"If you lose a few games you are always going to lose a bit of confidence, that is just one of those things," said the South African. "Just one massive performance was needed to get the confidence back. After the forwards' performance against Irish, all the confidence will be back.

"As a team, our aim over the last three or four weeks had been to deliver one massive performance and get a win under our belts.

"At times we had been close to delivering that performance but we weren't consistent enough for 80 minutes. We needed a massive performance like the one against Irish."

When Bath embarked on their odds-defying, end-of-season charges in 2010 and 2011, Claassens was a pivotal figure.

And he wouldn't bet against another late tilt – notwithstanding a visit to champions Saracens this Sunday.

"In previous seasons, we've proved that just one massive win can build confidence and that will help us going into the next game," he said.

"Saracens will definitely be a tough test but the Irish win will have built everyone's confidence. If the pack have the same type of performance at Saracens then we will have a chance of winning there.

"We're just focusing on our next performance, getting another win in the Premiership and getting back into the top half of the league."