It certainly wasn't a cuddle, nor was it an embrace, but Steve Meehan definitely gave Olly Barkley an affectionate squeeze at the post-match press conference on Saturday.

Asked how it felt to have his England playmaker back in the breach, the Bath Rugby head coach – who was positively beaming – slipped an arm round Barkley's back and said: "Delighted".

Meehan isn't always so tactile or gushing but his relief at Barkley's comeback was obvious.

It must be an even bigger relief for the Bath boss to see his side scoring freely again. It's funny what scoring 112 points in three games can do, isn't it? Not only has the Bath players' body language been transformed this month, the head coach's demeanour has done an about turn too.

At this point it's relevant to know that since the start of the season Meehan has been accompanied to post-match press conferences by performance coach John Neal.

Neal's brief, as a psychologist, has been to assess how Meehan responds to the questions thrown at him.

I don't know if Neal keeps notes from such meetings but I bet they would make for interesting reading.

It's fair to say that Meehan's answers at times during the early part of the season were somewhat curt. As the losses piled up and the bafflement and frustration at his side's performances intensified, the post-match chats weren't always a barrel of laughs (although Meehan never entirely lost his line in deadpan humour – an endearing characteristic).

One typical encounter came after the last-minute loss to Harlequins at The Stoop. After Quins coach John Kingston had spoken to the press, Meehan shuffled into the cramped media room with a definite scowl on his face.

Invited to sit down, he declined firmly and stayed by the door, clearly itching to make a hasty exit and get back on the bus to the West Country.

You couldn't blame him. Bath had got off to a miserable start to their campaign and the return of Barkley and fellow playmaker Butch James must have seemed an age away.

But from having looked like Atlas with the weight of the world on his shoulders just a few months ago, Meehan now appears positively carefree.

He even allowed himself a hearty belly-laugh on Saturday when Barkley, in response to a journalist's question, went into a little too much physiological detail about his leg injury. The England star's response prompted derisory snoring sounds from one wag in the press corps, which in turn triggered a fit of the giggles in Meehan.

It was good to see. The coaching staff at Bath Rugby have emphasised in recent weeks how important they feel it is for players to enjoy their rugby and play with smiles on their faces.

And if the coaches can lead by example and keep grinning, then that will surely foster yet more cohesion in a squad that's been through the mill over the past 12 months.