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Bath v Tigers AP Match Preview


By ChrisC
September 15 2014

And Now ... for something completely different – or not!!  Is this week’s piece something completely different? Have I got your hopes up? Sorry then – I’m teasing – it’s the same old guff!

However what is different is that this is to be my last article for a while as we are once again bound for Spain to support our ailing relative who, after a valiant fight, is succumbing to the cancer which has fought back with increased ferocity as if offended by his temerity in refusing to immediately acquiesce to its depredations.  

It is likely a valedictory journey to the Spanish hinterland which once again sees us away from these shores for an indeterminate time. Maybe just a few weeks maybe months, that too is a decision in the lap of the gods. How fortunate we are to have good, kind friends willing to move into our home, setting our minds at ease that the property is safe and secure as the nights darken and the weather begins to flex its winter claws. 

In the face of such human frailty sport provides a blessed relief and I remember sitting with my sick relative in the sweltering Spanish summer heat watching, on TV, the Lions in 2013 when earlier chemotherapy, the subsequent radical surgery to his battered body and the tribulations of the time were briefly set aside as we cursed the referee and the cruel fates that befell our team before savouring and vicariously sharing in the glory of their victory. 

All too short respites they may have been but on those harsh, brightly lit summer days they were valued above diamonds when, for a few hours, we could briefly believe that things were as they’d always been and would be again.  

Now though the hopes of redemption underpinning those travels for us into the sporting land of maybe are likely passed. There’s a susurration abroad that augurs ill and that no more can the evil at the door be suborned.  We all know that the time for sophistry is past and harsh reality looks likely to engulf us.  Against all sense we remain hopeful no matter how ill founded it proves to be. 

It will then be a plangent visit to the sunlit valley and we’ll selfishly hope for some recharging time at our villa on the coast some thirty minutes drive away. 

And so, for the last time for a while, here are my rugby thoughts. 

 This week two implacable adversaries; Bath and Tigers meet at The Rec, both having got the new season off to winning starts. Bath are the latest team to give London Welsh a fifty point drubbing to maintain their 100% winning record, although the current whipping boys managed to score twenty-six points at the Recreation Ground, notching four tries and a bonus point in the process. 

Unless some serious gelling takes place the Oxford based side will attract the mantle of the Italian sides wear in European competition with the victories over them and the points difference accruing becoming key elements in the league positions of their rivals. 

Tigers meanwhile also got their second win and similarly maintained their 100% winning start to the season, this time in a close fought battle at Sandy Park and, as will be the case with Mike Ford’s coaching staff, the Tigers’ coaches, and particularly newcomer Blake, will be looking at the defensive frailties that were exposed while securing their victories. 

Tigers’ starting pack themselves looked frail at times but in truth with a combination of injuries and absence on international duty, that curse of the modern game, Richard Cockerill’s options look limited.

Whereas Mike Ford has Henry Thomas, newly arrived from Sale and young Nick Auterac, who’s come in from Saracens, to augment his first choice trio, Cockerill has thin and inexperienced cover. 

Bath look likely to field a very experienced front and if the wily Welshman Paul James gets away with the boring in that only cost him a free kick and then a penalty against Welsh, Fraser Balmain could have another difficult afternoon, much as he did when he faced the experienced Carl Rimmer and Mr Doyle gazed into the middle distance, seeming only to have issues with Tom Youngs who continually remonstrated with him over the Irish born official’s laissez faire approach. 

Against London Welsh it hardly seemed necessary for James to engage in such shenanigans as the Bath scrum had the visitors on toast anyway. 

It seems likely that Tigers’ front row will be Balmain, Ghiraldini and Mulipola. Although after his showings thus far there must be, with his arrival on the scene at Sandy Park earning an immediate scrum penalty for his side, a powerful argument for Brugnara getting his chance with the big Samoan moving to the tight-head. Though it’d still be a big ask to contain Welsh international James, the exceptional Rob Webber and, if he’s recovered from the knock that forced his early departure from the action against Welsh, England international tight-head Davy Wilson. 

Ghiraldini should get the start as I just feel that Tom Youngs will, in the prevailing circumstances, be better employed as an impact substitute on sixty minutes when his barrelling runs will be at wearying, or second choice, opposition defence. 

Geoff Parling started off against the Chiefs looking a bit rusty after another injury curtailed his pre-season and counted him out of the first match of the season but as the match wore on his class began to show through as his reading of the line out runes returned, so I expect to see him again paired with the superb Kitchener who was dominant at the line out. 

It seems unlikely that Stuart Hooper will, or indeed should, give way in the visitors’ second row so I expect him to start again alongside the re-born Dave Attwood who’s reprising his glory days at Gloucester that brought him into contention with Martin Johnson’s England. 

As in so much else the Welsh line out was a bit of a shambles and Bath weren’t challenged too often so its real performance was hard to judge but both locks were certainly much in evidence in the loose. 

It’ll be a feisty contest between the locks come Saturday but one that Tigers may just edge with either the understated Gibson or super star Croft, who’s already said to be part of the match day squad, aiding their cause. 

In the tight though Tigers’ Salvi, an ex favourite with the Bath supporters, will be taking on Guy Mercer who I’ve always thought to be under rated and with Louw seemingly another injured on international duty the Bath stalwart, now in his sixth Premiership season with the club even though he’s still just twenty-four, could get an extended run in the famous blue, black and white #7 shirt.  

Mercer’s very dynamic in open play and a thorough nuisance at the tackle area so while I think Salvi will prevail, especially so should the match officials forbear to have an even passing acquaintance with the management of the breakdown in totality, as opposed to Mr Doyle who last week once again demonstrated that he has a limited number of strings to his comprehension bow outside of his personal foibles.  Mr Carney at the Recreation ground not being much better in his inconsistent management style. 

I expect that the go forward and scrummaging expertise of Crane will initially be preferred to the talents of Barbieri who is a perfect bench replacement able to operate across the back row, as Tigers looked much more certain and accomplished once the long serving Crane joined the fray at Sandy Park. 

Samoan international blind-side and Sevens star Alafoti Fa’osiliva late of Toulon and Bristol has shared the starting spot thus far with Carl Fearns who is marvellously destructive in defence and accrues well in attack although injury has plagued him and, in my view, stopped him vying for international recognition greater than his solitary Churchill Cup appearance. 

He was ubiquitous against Welsh in a Bath back-row that looked magnificent with ball in hand but was guilty of some shoddy work around the tackle area which, if repeated against Tigers will provide manna for the Tigers’ triumvirate. 

The New Zealand born but Australian qualified Leroy Houston has started the first two matches of his second season with the West Country side having previously been briefly at Colomiers and Bordeaux Beagles after travelling north after four seasons with Queensland Reds and one with the Waratahs. 

Houston is a big ball carrying #8 and will be threat around the fringes if Tigers fail to get their defensive house in order as he’s one of those #8s that always seems to break the first tackle, or at least he did against Welsh where he made prodigious yardage. And, with an advance apology, when he’s on song Houston does not have a problem.  (I know! I know!) 

Behind the pack it was happy days for the Bath back division in attack when the pedestrian line speed of the Welsh and a plethora of missed tackles let the hugely talented Bath backs gambol around to their heart’s content showing off their party pieces. 

In defence though and against such mediocre opposition that lived off scraps the Bath defence looked oddly disorganised and unenthusiastic at times. 

Young Chris Cook made a try scoring Premiership debut after some fine approach work by the effervescent Eastmond, who so reminds me of Jason Robinson as his feet twinkle across the turf.  At another point in the game he could well have been penalised for failing to release the ball but at this early stage Mr Carney hadn’t decided that this was to be his “offence de jour”. 

As he and Stringer were the duty scrum halves I assume that Micky Young is injured and continuing his unhappy time since leaving Kingston Park. 

I’d expect the veteran Irish international Peter Stringer to be centre stage against Tigers to face the bang in form Ben Youngs who’s had a sparkling start to the season and he’ll need to continue that form as I suspect the Tigers’ scrum won’t be providing him with the stable base that all of his profession yearn for.  He’ll need to be swift and accurate otherwise Freddie Burns could think himself back at Kingsholm as the Bath flankers climb all over him forcing him to stand deeper than is his preference so aiding his spotting areas of  fecundity. 

George Ford had his first examination against a putative rival for the England fly half shirt at Sale and saw off the challenge of a subdued Danny Cipriani.  After a rest from the “rugby milk run” opposite London Welsh who didn’t lay a finger on him so late were they getting into the defensive groove and giving him such a sufficiency of time to weave his magic that he could have caught up on a bit of light reading, so calm and accomplished was his performance. 

The talented pretender to Farrell’s international shirt will have a more rigorous examination of his credentials when he returns to the ground where he first made his name. 

His competitor for international honours and to some extent the incumbent reserve, Freddie Burns, thanks both to his performances in New Zealand this summer and his early season Premiership form has already had a couple of work outs against the persistently off side Falcons and the aggressive Chiefs.  

For Tigers’ new star it’s the big audition although with Lancaster so driven by the tides of media opinion and with the third estate firmly behind Ford’s claims it’s more likely that the Bath fly half will be on the England bench come the autumn internationals having been denied his chance in New Zealand when surgery, to attend to what sounds like an injury ironically having its genus in the youngster’s body playing too much rugby, counted him out. 

England honours look likely though not as likely as him being in the Bath #10 shirt come Saturday, which is a familial certainty and Tigers will need to put the skilful youngster under maximum scrutiny and force him deeper to weave his spells. 

With Heathcote now departed and in a further irony, I suspect, in reaction to the very version of primogeniture that drove Ford from Tigers. George Ford now has no specialist competitor for the fly half shirt with possible replacements; the venerable and much travelled Gavin Henson and the very talented youngster Devoto both centre/fly half utility types. 

Kyle Eastmond, in spite of his travails at the hands of the England set up, also benefitted hugely from the snail like line defensive line speed of the London Welsh defence and with players as talented as Ford and Eastmond such tardiness will be punished. 

Tigers’ own line speed has been better thus far and their defence more aggressive although both Tuilagi and Goneva can be heart stoppingly precipitous in their enthusiasm. 

Tony Allen, on a physical level, looked to need the game time against Exeter but mentally he was sharp as a razor not only magnificently organising the depleted backs defence in the absence of Goneva but being as one with Burns when taking his own try.  It’s testimony to Allen’s management that Tigers conceded their tries through the forwards’ accidie in defending the breakdown fringes rather though the backs. 

Allen must start on Saturday as Tigers’ defence will need to be at its most organised, committed, aggressive and accurate best against the potent threat of the visitors’ rapier like attacks. 

Joseph is a wonderfully physical sinewy player and a claimant for Manu Tuilagi’s England shirt so this is another area where an audition is taking place with its outcome vital to the result on Saturday and the international futures of the two candidates.  

They offer different approaches in attack with Tuilagi bringing some new found subtlety to his attacking play but he still struggles with his proclivity to go off message in defence where Allen will need to have used a throat serum to ensure he doesn’t become hoarse shouting at his centre colleague while getting that metaphorical broom ready to sweep up the defensive mess that can get left in his wake by Tuilagi. 

Out wide I expect Anthony Watson to continue giving defences conniptions when he has the ball as he sniffs around for the vaguest of opportunities on which to perform alchemic rites.  On the other flank I can’t see Banahan ousting the Fijian born Rokoduguni who is a finisher of some moment. 

Speaking of finishers Nikki Goneva was treated harshly by Mr Doyle who awarded a yellow card which seem to be generated by him against visiting teams to a disproportionate extent. 

On Saturday at Sandy Park Goneva made a tackle which initially struck the ball being carried by the attacking player.  Presumably the match officials had never handled a rugby ball in anger else they’d know they’re hard bouncy things which if clouted with an arm cause the limb to bounce and with the ball moving forward the trajectory of that limb is usually upward. 

It was quite clear from his dialogue with his colleagues that Doyle had made up his mind that he’d award a yellow card and would be brooking no demurring from them and, as if under a three line whip, they duly complied with his wishes and an illogical and erroneous sanction was applied, then in a model of inconsistency an almost identical offence by Exeter saw Doyle imperiously wave play onward. 

Now I don’t know if there is such a thing as the “south sea island tariff” but if there’s not I wonder why players from that geographical area fair so badly in the severity of sanctions. 

In any event the Bath defence will have to be better organised than they were against Welsh if they’re to contain Tigers’ Fijian try scoring machine. 

It seemed odd to see Nick Abendanon missing from Bath line up and while Luke Arscott is a good traditional, workmanlike full back when he’s in possession my heart doesn’t leap into my mouth as it did whenever Abendanon had the ball in hand and I suspect that once Agulla is back Watson will take over the #15 shirt and my heart will resume its acrobatics.  

Matt Tait was reinstated at full back for Tigers and looked to need a copious dousing in WD40 to shake loose the rust.  

I feared that once he was fit he’d be a shoo-in for the Tigers’ #15 shirt even though Niall Morris has been superb in the position both in pre-season and against Newcastle but who was shunted off to the wing, which saw the similarly excellent Scully disappear from the match day squad. 

 If the American isn’t injured then to my mind it was a poor selection by Cockerill. I’d have preferred to see the returning Tait, who seems as fragile as fine Meissen, introduced from the bench when his effect against a tiring defence would have been maximised and his introduction more gradual and considered. 

No amount of hortatory from me, or anybody else for that matter, will have any effect on Cockerill so I expect to see Tait in the starting line up and trying to find (or even keep) his feet from the off. 

Both sides are going well at the moment with much, much more to come from both of them and if they can hold their own at the scrum I anticipate a close run Tigers’ victory at The Rec. 

For now from me adios.

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Bath v Tigers AP Match Preview
Discussion started by TheLeicesterTigers.co.uk , 15/09/2014 21:59
TheLeicesterTigers.co.uk
15/09/2014 21:59
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Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2014:09:23:19:52:22 by Tiggs.

Stopsy
16/09/2014 10:47
Many thanks Chris Iand I hope you can enjoy your time away even if in difficult circumstances.

odd-shaped vagaries
16/09/2014 11:37
It is unlikely to ease the anguish to remember you are not alone; nor that for some of us, perhaps you too, it is not of the order of things when it is our offspring who suffer thus.

No doubt you've considered what potential distraction there could be in continuing with your excellent previews.

So an empathetic wish for a salving of the portentous desolation is my only poor offering.

Best wishes.

'Lions led by donkeys' .. Lest we forget

Never In Doubt
16/09/2014 13:34
Excellent article and as a Bath fan who has a similar personal situation, I wish you good luck.

I think you will shade line-outs and your back row is always a concern. Mercer is not at Salvi's level and without Louw and Garvey we lack grunt.

Watson is a doubt for us but if Eastmond and Ford can continue to act as alternate playmakers then it should be fun. Otherwise as usual we may struggle to contain your power runners.

Tiger in the Bath
16/09/2014 13:34
Watson went off injured against Welsh on Saturday so it could be Banahan starting, in which case given his turning issues, FB's kicking behind the defence may prove very important.

Micky Young put in an excellent MoM showing for the A team at Bath against Quins A last night but only has 5 days to recover to be involved on Saturday. Wouldn't be surprised to see him on the bench

Bri
16/09/2014 17:29
Excellent preview.

Yorkie
16/09/2014 17:57
Thanks Chris.

Good luck in Spain. As osv says, if you're looking for a distraction then a preview of your always welcome.

http://www.jakehowlett.com/tuckshop/wrappers/chocolate/plain/yorkie-nutter.jpg

Widcombe boy
17/09/2014 08:50
Thanks Chris another gem and as always, keeps me reaching for the dictionary.

Widcombe Garçon



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2014:09:17:08:55:11 by Widcombe Boy.

Bathovalballer
17/09/2014 13:06
Well written by someone who really knows and appreciates what the game is all about and how many of us see it. Much better than one or two so called 'expert' journalists I could name! We all wish you and yours all the best and hopefully you will be able to return from Spain quite soon.

Mr Frivolous
17/09/2014 13:28
Great review even from a Blue Black & White jaundiced view. Bon voyage!



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2014:09:17:13:29:08 by Mr Frivolous.

Stopsy
17/09/2014 20:14
To our friends from Bath, in the spirit of the game, thank you for your appreciation of the work someone who we hold very dearly on this site.

S4llyC
18/09/2014 11:48
Thanks as ever Chris. Thinking of you and your family over the coming weeks, and here's hoping you'll feel ready to review again before long.

WestonDave
18/09/2014 13:26
As a long time reader of your Bath v Tigers previews Chris, may I say firstly an excellent example of your craft as usual, and secondly I hope your trip to Spain is as painless as possible (given the circumstances) for all involved.

jonniejon
19/09/2014 09:46
From another of the BB & W faithful may I reiterate what a great article this is.

Rich W
19/09/2014 18:40
Thanks Chris - superb as always.

Thinking of you at your difficult time. It is hard to think of anything worthy to say but I hope you travel well and a you find things less awful than they sound. Best wishes to you both and to your dear friend as always.

...

Tiggs
19/09/2014 18:57
Many thanks to our Bath friends for their praise and kind thoughts in Chris' absence !
All the best for both teams tomorrow !

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