Balshaw faces Saracens after frustrating series of injuries

There used to be a time when opposition defences saw precious little of Iain Balshaw, for the very good reason that he ran round them at speeds bordering on the ridiculous. This season, sadly, Balshaw has been well nigh invisible to everyone, not least his employers. Injury after injury, frustration after frustration... the blond bombshell of a full-back who made monkeys of the world's best during an exceptional campaign in 2001 has not worn an England shirt for a year and, more to the immediate point, not played for Bath since mid-January.

He will be back on Saturday, though, when the West Countrymen attempt to beat Saracens by more than eight points at the Recreation Ground and claim a place in the Parker Pen Challenge Cup final in Reading on 25 May. Balshaw last strutted his inimitable stuff on the banks of the Avon in a Parker Pen quarter-final tie against the Frenchmen of Montauban, during which he suffered what the doctors called a "grade three separation of the shoulder joint". Three months on, his shoulder is back in one piece.

As is his mind, if the Bath coaches are to be believed. Balshaw's mental approach has been the stuff of debate since he first surfaced at The Rec as a precocious teenager, and his demeanour on the Lions tour of Australia two years ago was that of a man who would rather have spent his summer in the wastes of Siberia. But he has much to play for now, not least a place alongside the likes of Josh Lewsey, Jason Robinson, Dan Luger and Ben Cohen on England's three-match trek to the Antipodes. A decent showing there might even earn him a place in the World Cup.

"Iain will definitely start against Saracens," confirmed Michael Foley, the Bath co-coach, who was at pains not to identify his precise position. "He has been running pretty well in training and taken full contact in both the attacking and defensive sessions. He's ready, and he will make a big difference to us over the remaining weeks of the season. It is not Iain's job to win rugby games – only the team can do that – but he is a player with the kind of spark that causes things to happen. We're excited at the thought of running a full-strength back division for the first time in God knows how long."

Jonathan Humphreys, the wizened old hooker from Wales who was lured across the Severn Bridge to restore some competitive steel to the Bath mix, will not face Saracens. Lumbered with a one-match suspension after visiting the sin-bin a touch too regularly, he has opted to serve his penance this weekend, thereby ensuring his availability for the Premiership relegation scraps with Bristol and Newcastle on 4 and 10 May.

Bristol, on the other hand, have appealed against the yellow cards received by their captain, Garath Archer, and their flanker, Matt Salter, during the heavy defeat at Northampton eight days ago – temporary dismissals that put both men in suspension territory. Their cases will be heard in London a week today, and if they succeed in persuading the disciplinary tribunal of their behavioural purity, they will be available for the climactic contest with Bath at Ashton Gate.

Wasps, clear favourites to win the Parker Pen tournament, take a 15-point lead to Pontypridd for tomorrow night's semi-final second leg. Stuart Abbott, who has brought a cutting edge to the midfield, takes a breather – Mark Denney replaces him at centre – while Kenny Logan and Phil Greening are both given starts after a spell of bench duty.