By KevT
November 21 2003

NEC Harlequins travel to Bath this weekend to take on the Premiership leaders at The Rec (Kick off 2.15pm). Quins are smarting from a disappointing defeat to Leeds in the Cup last week and will be looking to cement their second place in the league. Quins make one change from the team that lost to Leeds. Gavin Duffy takes over at Full Back from the unlucky Josh Taumalolo. I think this is probably a “horses for courses” selection with Duffy better suited to counter Bath’s kicking game. Winger George Harder continues to be troubled by his knee injury whilst Hooker / flanker Ace Tiatia is given another week to recover from his calf injury. Will Greenwood and Jason Leonard are with the England Rugby World Cup squad.

Speaking exclusively to www.comeallwithin.co.uk Quins’ forwards’ coach, John Kingston was disappointed to go out of the Powergen Cup last week. “Whether FA Cup, Powergen Cup or whatever sport, it’s disappointing for a team to go out of a cup competition. I do think the Cup needs a bit of rekindling- perhaps if Premiership clubs came in a round earlier?. Something has got to be done as playing in front of a crowd of 1,200 on a Friday night as we did last week does nothing for the competition. This isn’t meant to sound bitter but after watching the video of last week’s game I don’t think it was possible for any more decisions to go against us than happened against Leeds. We just didn’t get the rub of the green. We played very well into a strong gale in the first half and were unlucky not to turn in at half time at least level. If that had happened then it would have been a different game but we lost a bit of focus in the second half with the wind behind us and allowed a tenacious Leeds team to stay in front.”

John has been satisfied with the team’s performance in the set piece this season. “We made a big decision when Alex (Codling) was released last season. Much of that was based upon Simon Miall. A lot of people don’t realise that he is 27 years old and he is a great leader for a young and inexperienced front five. It was a big blow when he got injured. But Jim Evans has come in and he is done a very good job, particularly in our last two games. He was excellent against Northampton. Simon’s loss is his gain. We’ve had one particularly bad game in the line out which was against Gloucester and I certainly looked at myself after that game, but we revamped our systems and it has been going a lot better since then. Perhaps our second row doesn’t compare weight wise with others but we work very hard as a unit, particularly on the set piece.”

John has been impressed with the Bath pack this season. “There’s no substitute for consistency and they have played nine premiership games with the same pack of eight forwards. This has allowed them to work well as a team. We have had a change of hooker for nearly every game. Bath’s pack has been the best in the League by some way. If the set piece doesn’t function then it makes it very hard for a team and their set piece has been excellent. Stephen Borthwick is a fine athlete and has done very well in their line outs.”

I asked John whether he though there were similarities in the way the two teams put pressure on the opposition. “I think you’ve used the right word in pressure for the way Bath play. If you watched John Connolly’s Queensland Reds in the past they play a game of intensity and pressure. When we’ve been under the cosh or we’ve been hit by injuries we’ve gone back to basics, but you’ve also seen games against Wasps, Rotherham, the two games against Leeds and Northampton that we can play a much more expansive game. Feaunati would be Bath’s number one line breaker and their kicking game through Ollie Barkley and Matt Perry is excellent. Bothwick and David Flatman cause the opposition a lot of difficulties in their set piece functions. Fair play to them, they are a good side.”

“We’ve analysed them this week as you would expect and think, with due respect, that we can beat them. They’ve had a bit of luck away from home winning three games which could have gone either way and we’ve worked very hard on our set piece this week. We believe we can come away with the points.”

Bath are likely to make one change to the team that demolished Northampton 42 – 13 at the Rec last week. Simon Danielli may come in for Jamie Williams.

In my opinion, Bath’s best signing during the close season was David Flatman at loose head prop. The ex Saracens front row man has been in excellent form and has transformed the Bath scrum from a weakness (last season) to a strength. I’m sure Flatman will be looking forward to coming up against his ex Dulwich College front row colleague and Quins tight head Jon Dawson. Flatman and Dawson played together in the same Dulwich pack that also included Sale loose head Andrew Sheridan. Flatman and Dawson also played together at Saracens. At hooker, Bath have the ever reliable Welsh international Jonathan Humphries. The 34 year old ex Wales captain is an accurate thrower in the line out and provides stability in the scrum. He usually gets 60 minutes these days and is then replaced by England Under 21 international Lee Mears. At tight head ex Quins player Duncan Bell starts. The versatile Bell can play loose head or tight head and greatly improved his fitness and technique at Pontypridd before joining Bath at the beginning of this season. He provides an excellent partner for the more destructive Flatman.

In the second row, Rob Fidler has joined Bath this season from Gloucester. He has given the pack some real aggression in the absence of Danny Grewcock. Don’t expect to see Bath throw the ball to Fidler too much as they tend to target the athletic Steve Borthwick most of the time. Borthwick is Bath’s “go to” man in the line out in much the same way as Quins threw to Alex Colding last season. He moves up and down the line out like a defective airport escalator. Borthwick is also a good stealer of opposition ball and is a real presence around the park.

The Bath back row has been a revelation this season. One of the unsung heroes of the side is 6’ 5” Andy Beattie at blind side flanker. Beattie is quick and physical and provides height at the line out. He compliments the even quicker ex Bristol player Michael Lipman at open side. Lipman made his debut for England at the tail end of last season and will be one of the players vying for Neil Back’s spot. He is very quick to the tackle area and with ball in hand. At number eight, Bath signed Samoan Isaac Feaunati from Leeds in the summer. He is a great ball carrier who is able to commit defenders and create space for his backs. Expect to see him running from the base of the Bath scrum at Paul Burke and committing the Quins back row.

Bath have been unfortunate with injuries and absence in their backs. Mike Catt, Mike Tindall and Ian Balshaw are away with England. Kevin Maggs is rumoured to be on his way to London Irish and may have played his last game for Bath. Bath have made a number of signings who have all suffered long term injuries. Ex Quin Brendan Daniel, South African centre Robbie Fleck and another ex Bristol player Lee Best have all suffered horrendous injuries. It shows the strength in depth at the club that they have prospered despite these absences. At scrum half Bath signed Martyn Wood from Wasps during the close season. Wood has a long flat pass which provides his half back partner Olly Barkley with plenty of time and space to create opportunities for the Bath backs. Wood flew out to Australia as cover for the England scrum halves. He is not the quickest scrum half from the base of the scrum but is well organised and orchestrates the Bath pack well. His service has certainly made a difference to Olly Barkley who will start at Fly Half. Barkley looks a different player this season and is beginning to deliver on the promise that he has shown over the past couple of seasons. He has a good boot, a great step and real vision. England are very fortunate to have Jonny Wilkinson, Charlie Hodgson and Barkley to choose from over the next few years.

In the centre ex Bristol player Andrew Higgins gives real strength and direct running to the Bath back line. He is also very strong in the tackle. One of the few bright spots for Bristol last season was the excellent running and defence of Higgins and Daryl Gibson. He is partnered by the very promising 21 year old New Zealander Robbie Kydd who has represented New Zealand at Under 19 and Under 21 level. He has been at the fulcrum of many of Bath’s best moments over the last few weeks and is one to watch. On the wing, Bath have signed Wylie Human on a short term contract from the South African Super 12 side, The Bulls. He has received some good reviews from Bath supporters and is quick. On the other wing Simon Danielli returns after being one of the few players from Scotland to return with any credit. He is strong and powerful without having blistering speed. At Full Back, the ever reliable Matt Perry gets the nod. Perry is a safe pair of hands under the high ball and comes into the line well. He has a strong left boot but has suffered some criticism for kicking the ball away too much. I tend to believe that he is under instructions from his coaches to do this. In another era Perry would have been an England regular, but with so many options at Full Back, Clive Woodward has largely ignored him.

All in all, this is a very strong Bath team. They have a big heavy pack, a solid set piece, a strong ball running number eight and good half backs. John Connolly has improved team spirit and they play well for each other. They have a very strong defence. They like to play their rugby in the opposition half rather than running from deep and use Matt Perry and Olly Barkley to direct them there. If the ball goes into touch they will try to disrupt the opposition throw or steal ball. Their defence will chase down opposition wingers and full backs quickly who try to run the ball out of defence. Their back row will then try to turn over ball or force mistakes. This sort of pressure rugby often results in errors by the opposition giving Barkley three points or allow the Bath pack to kick start attacks from scrums or line outs. In particular the Bath pack have used the catch and drive very effectively. This may sound pretty familiar to Quins’ supporters. It is not a thousand miles away from the way Quins play their game. Quins have a very strong back row in Vos, Sanderson and Diprose who get to the break down quickly to turn over ball. Quins kicking game is often directed at forcing mistakes from the opposition. Quins have a strong scrummaging pack, a Fly Half who has a deadly boot and strong defence. The difference this season has been that Bath have been much more consistent than Quins and their line out has functioned in every match.

I can see a very tight tactical match with both teams cancelling each other out. I’m afraid that I can’t forecast any champagne flowing rugby. Quins will hope their recent strong scrummaging with Worsley and Dawson on form will cancel out or get an edge on the Bath tight five. Quins’ attacking opportunities are going to depend on their ability to secure decent possession at the line out and turn over opposition ball. It is only then that we are likely to see the extremely quick Ugo Monye, Gavin Duffy and Simon Keogh in enough space to trouble the Bath defence. This will be Quins’ main threat. Bath will rely on Barkley to create their opportunities or the strong running Feaunati at number eight. Vos and Sanderson will try to restrict the space which Wood’s quick pass creates for Barkley. It is Quins’ ability to stop Feaunati and Barkley and Bath’s ability to make the Quins’ back three a non factor that may decide the result of the match.


Bath (probable): 15 Matt Perry; 14 Wylie Human; 13 Robbie Kydd; 12 Andrew Higgins; 11 Simon Danielli; 10 Olly Barkley; 9 Martyn Wood; 1 David Flatman; 2 Jonathan Humphreys ©; 3 Duncan Bell
4 Steve Borthwick; 5 Rob Fidler; 6 Andy Beattie; 7 Michael Lipman; 8 Zak Feaunati

Replacements: 16 Hentie Martens; 17 Lee Mears; 18 Matt Stevens; 19 Jamie Williams; 20 Paul Sampson; 21 James Scaysbrook; 22 Scott Gray



NEC Harlequins: 15 Gavin Duffy; 14 Simon Keogh; 13 Chris Bell; 12 Mel Deane; 11 Ugo Monye
10 Paul Burke; 9 Ben Willis; 1 Mike Worsley; 2 Tani Fuga; 3 Jon Dawson; 4 Bill Davison; 5 Jim Evans; 6 Pat Sanderson; 7 Andre Vos; 8 Tony Diprose

Replacements: 16 James Hayter; 17 Ceri Jones; 18 Laurent Gomez; 19 Karl Rudzki; 20 Roy Winters
21 Andy Dunne; 22 Josh Taumalolo