The first bit was easy for Mark Bennett.

Well, as easy as these things get. Cutting in from the right as he took Duncan Weir's slipped pass, the reception committee waiting for him was made up of front-row players, and he would back himself in that situation every day of the week. He planted his foot, changed direction in an instant, and shot through.

Then things got trickier. Bennett was still a good 10 yards from the line and four players were closing in. He could have taken the tackle and set up a ruck, but he saw that something else was on. With another sudden shift to the right, he bamboozled full-back Gavin Henson then thrust himself over the line with Kyle Eastmond and Micky Young hanging from his shoulders.

A try for Glasgow, the first of five they scored on that remarkable day last October when they hammered Bath 37-10 at Scotstoun, and a declaration that Bennett had finally arrived among the elite. Within a couple of weeks he would be an international player, a status that had seemed to be his destiny from the moment he first caught the eye as a teenage prodigy at Cumnock. His progress would subsequently be interrupted in his second Test appearance, against New Zealand, when he suffered a hamstring injury, but there was no doubt that a major talent had emerged.

Bennett actually scored two tries in that first game against Bath, but the English side could be forgiven for failing to appreciate the threat of the centre who was, at that time, the only uncapped player in the Glasgow back line. No likelihood of that now, for the 21-year-old will have a target on his chest when he lines up against Bath at the Recreation Ground this afternoon in their final Pool 4 match in the European Champions Cup. These days, they and the wider rugby world know how good he is.

But much else has changed over the three months since Glasgow roasted Bath alive. Back then, Bath were in the midst of a back-row injury crisis, but it is Glasgow who have that problem on their hands today. They go into battle in one of the most challenging arenas in Europe with a lock at blindside, a hooker at openside and a centre at No 8. If the Warriors come away with a victory it will be one of the most sensational against-the-odds results in European rugby history.

And yet, young Bennett is adamant they can do just that. It might be youthful bravado, youthful innocence or plain-old youthful naivety, but the very suggestion that Glasgow are incapable of repeating what they did in the first game draws an expression of incredulity across the Ayrshireman's face.

"We played exceptionally well in the last game and we exploited them in places they weren't really expecting," Bennett says. "I think we've got to go for the same thing again. We've really just got to take it to them."

Well yes, but just as Glasgow have been weakened considerably since last autumn's game, Bath have found new gears. This season, their only home loss was against Toulouse, a setback they avenged in spectacular fashion last weekend when they pitched up in the French side's backyard and walked away with a 35-18 win and a try-bonus point to boot. Their much-vaunted back line failed to fire at Scotstoun in October, but they have been in outstanding form since. At home, they have been averaging more than 30 points per game.

And then, of course, there is Sam Burgess. The rugby league convert has generated absurd levels of hype since he hopped codes late last year, but he has been putting that mighty frame to impressive use in recent games. Bath have put him on the bench today, but when he does come on he is likely to be in direct opposition to Bennett.

Does Bennett have a plan to stop the turbo-charged behemoth? Kind of. "Personally, if he runs at me I'm not going anywhere other than his ankles," he explains. "It would just be stupid not to because he's twice the size of me.

"But it's great to have someone of that calibre playing. He has been talked about a lot and in the last few weeks he has been playing some really good rugby as well. He is starting to find a bit of form and that just adds to the challenge and satisfaction of going down there to beat them."

Of course, it is also possible that Bennett will be carrying the ball in Burgess's direction as well. At which point, he is more inclined to rely on his twinkling toes than brute force.

"The best thing for evasion is fear," the Scot smiles. "I'm not going to be running anywhere near him, that's for sure."

With three wins in their pool, Glasgow have already matched their best return in Europe. That, though, will be meagre consolation to a side that launched itself into this season's Champions Cup with lofty aspirations that seemed justified when they backed up their dazzling win against Bath with a doughty away victory over Montpellier.

However, they came unstuck in the middle part of the campaign with back-to-back losses to Toulouse, and their failure to secure a try-bonus against Montpellier last weekend came down to the errors that have become an all too common blight on their recent performances.

With the modest exception of their away win over Exeter last season, there is also the consideration that Glasgow have generally been pretty hopeless on English soil, despite racking up an impressive record against the same opponents at home. Again, though, Bennett is untroubled by the historical dimension.

"I don't think I've played against any English sides down there," he shrugs. "It's all going to be new and exciting. It's great to beat any English side. They are always talked about in the press so it's nice just for us to silence them. Something we looked at [before the first game] was that no one expected anything of us. It was a case of Bath coming up here, on form - which they were, playing great rugby - and they were just going to keep that momentum going. It's no different now. They played great rugby last weekend and they have been playing really well for the past few weeks. It is a huge challenge, but I don't think it's one that we can't overcome."