VICTORY over the European champions was something to savour on Friday night.

The chance to say you've beaten the best doesn't come around too often so the players thoroughly deserved the chance to revel in their 27-24 win over Wasps at Sixways.

What could be better? A full house, an electric atmosphere, a cracking game and it was live on television for all to see.

It was nice to put the record straight in the national spotlight. We'd come out in front of the Sky cameras on match-day one of the Premiership against Newcastle and disappointed somewhat.

So, to show our never-say-die attitude plus some quality on the field was great for the club. It was vital for our league situation because it lifted us off the bottom but also for the self-belief within the squad. We've come back from our defeat against Leicester in the best way possible.

Our first away win in the top flight has been swiftly followed up by a momentous victory. We've all enjoyed the massive injection of confidence from those two games but the net result, from Friday, was four points. What's clear, if we look through the table, is that on the day anybody is capable of beating the best. We've seen, with ours and Quins' recent revival, that the Premiership is so compelling because of that unpredictability and now Leeds and Saracens are within our sights.

Now, it's about everybody coming back down to earth as we prepare for December. We have two European Shield legs with Rovigo before a Powergen Cup tie with London Irish and a Christmas clash at Welford Road. What this month offers us is a chance to build our momentum.

We went into our last Euro challenge on the back of good momentum built up with performances against Quins and Gloucester but came back to our domestic programme disappointed by our exit from the Challenge Cup. We followed that up with poor displays against London Irish and Leicester and that's something we're determined not to replicate this time around.

To that end, we've decided to rest certain players for our first leg tie in Italy on Saturday. This competition is not a priority for us but it will give us a chance to look at different individuals within our team structure. Neil Mason is pencilled in to start at the weekend and it's a big game for him to show us just how hungry he is. Neil's been on loan at Coventry recently but, because of Leon Greeff's and Ben Daly's injuries, he's been recalled.

We had to register 34 players for European competition this season when we began the adventure. So, in theory, that offers you a good chance to look at other options.

However, when we sat down and looked through the squad available, it wasn't quite 34! Pat Sanderson has gone to Dubai with England sevens, Uche O'Duza is playing in the Commonwealth Youth Games, James Brown, Leon and Ben are injured and Ben Gollings has left the club! Already, your options as a coach are limited before you start to think about resting people.

It would have been nice to involve Giscard Pieters but, unfortunately, he wasn't signed in time so won't be available. Giscard is making good progress since his move from South Africa and his finish on Friday night certainly got the crowd off their feet! Certainly he's improving every week and he could have done with another couple of run-outs.

Rovigo will be a big opportunity for some of the players who have been pushing for starting places. I would say that the Italians are probably of the standard of a good National One side so, in theory, we should go there and win. What I want to see from the players involved, however, is real desire. A number will feel they should have been more involved this season.

Where it matters on Saturday, they've got the perfect stage to argue their case.