Louw: Captain?

By P G Tips
May 11 2015

  After a close call at the Stoop, Bath’s home derby against Gloucester will be another test of character. Relative positions have widened since Bath won at Kingsholm in December: Gloucester have slumped to 9th, while Bath are restored at 2nd. This, though is a derby – against a team on a winning streak and scoring tries. The fixture is not the knife –edge it might have been as Exeter’s heroics last weekend at Allianz Park have handed Bath a home semi- final whatever the result. Gloucester’s season will have one more fixture to run: a European Champions Cup playoff against a Pro 12 side. Will that be a distraction, or will the Cherry & Whites use the Rec visit as preparation? Whatever side the Kingsholm club select will come prepared for a battle. For the Gloucester club and fans a victory over Bath is sweeter than any other. This match does not need an incentive to be spicy.  

Director of Rugby David Humphries has vowed to restore Gloucester’s tradition of strong forward play, to complement the relatively new brand of exciting back play which has been their hallmark for the last 3 seasons. He has recruited for that and next season sees more reinforcement arriving – five of the seven new signings are in the front five. Gloucester certainly have players of pedigree: Wood, Hibbard, Palmer and Kvesic are doughty warriors up front. Behind them the flair and wiles of Laidlaw and Hook can lay on plenty of chances for a backline boasting pace, power and skill in the likes of May, Sharples and Twelvetrees. The club’s lowly league position is not due to lack of talent, more to the time it takes to gel the squad together and transform the playing style. For most of this season, Gloucester have seemed to be less than the sum of their parts. On this occasion though, they will be missing Moriarty & Meakes who are banned and could well lose Kvesic also.

Bath will want to continue winning ways for momentum and morale, but the pressure for bonus points is off. Mike Ford has nailed his colours to the mast: the “Bath way” will be the preferred playing style until the end of the season. That approach was almost Bath’s undoing against Quins last Friday evening, the open game an invitation to counter attack which the Stoop men seized with glee. Ford will want to iron out some of the errors of that encounter: forced passes under pressure, lapses of concentration at attacking scrums wasting carefully built pressure positions, failure to guard at the ruck. The important positive from 8^th May though, was that Bath found a way to win. Resilience, pressure, good handling and determination brought tries to respond to each Quins touchdown and eventually the field position to force a winning penalty. He will look for a win secured earlier in the match this Saturday.

Unlike The Cherry & Whites, Bath have few missing and their secure playoff status allows a rest for any carrying niggling injuries. Departure from recent selections looks unlikely, unless it is to rest those carrying knocks, or the return of Henry Thomas to the squad if ready. Ford may want to give starts to players who have benched recently, but there seems little to gain from risking anybody who is not fully fit.

Last seasons Bath: Gloucester encounters were both edgy affairs. At the Rec Bath prevailed in pouring rain despite conceding the only try to a rampant Freddie Burns. Then at Kingsholm they sneaked a last minute win in a match marked by more cards than a Paul Daniels TV show. This season’s Christmas derby at Gloucester saw better rugby – Bath winning comfortably with a 23 point, 3 tries to one margin.

There will be plenty of passion, but victory in a derby usually goes to the team that keeps it’s head. Expect the braying at the end to be Bath’s trumpet of triumph, rather than the donkey calls of the Shedheads, but it will probably be a tasty encounter.

Possible teams:

James, Webber, Wilson, Garvey, Attwood, Burgess, Louw (Capt), Houston. Stringer, Ford, Rokoduguni,  Eastmond, Joseph, Banahan, Watson Bench: Auterac, Batty, Lahiff, Day, Fearns. Cook, Devoto, Homer

Gloucester: Wood, Hibbard, Afoa, Savage, Palmer , Kalamafoni, Kvesic, B. Morgan. Laidlaw,Hook, May, Twelvetrees, Trinder, Sharples, McColl Bench: Thomas, Edmonds, Puafisi, Savage, Evans, Robson, Burns, Atkinson.

Another Test of Character: Bath V Gloucester

Discussion started by Comeonmylovers.co.uk (IP Logged), 12/05/2015 13:41

Comeonmylovers.co.uk
12/05/2015 13:41

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Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2015:05:19:17:09:16 by Stuart Anderton.

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benjbath
12/05/2015 19:55

Cheers again pg! Is morgan back?

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P G Tips
12/05/2015 20:46

no - my error, he is not

PG

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benjbath
12/05/2015 21:08

Shan't hold it against you

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P G Tips
12/05/2015 21:08

Sorry guys,

Here is my revised stab at Glos team:

Wood, Hibbard, Afoa, Savage, Palmer , Kalamafoni,Thomas, Evans. Laidlaw,Hook, May, Twelvetrees, Macken, Purdy.Sharples,
Bench: Thomas, Edmonds, Puafisi, Galarza,Rown, Robson, Burns, Atkinson.


PG

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FourSticks
13/05/2015 09:09

Gloucester will need to play (and win) two further matches to qualify for the Champions Cup - the first against a Pro 12 team and then, if they win that a second match against the 7th placed Top14 team.

Ironically, the group Madness has been booked to play at Kingsholm (read into that what you will!), so their second game will be played at Sixways.

The two additional matches will almost certainly mean they will rest their bigger names - I suspect we won’t see Hibbard, 36, Sharples, May or Hook starting.

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Dan Wiley
13/05/2015 10:36

Does the momentum argument not equally apply to them?

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jayeatman
13/05/2015 14:42

Yes, but they have 3 suspensions and a pile of injuries and even at full strength probably wouldn't expect to win.

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Peasedown Exile
13/05/2015 14:57

Great preview PG.

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gaz59
13/05/2015 15:47

i'm baffled, why is the gloucs match v top 14 a homer for them, was that pre-ordained, a toss up or what?

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hasta
13/05/2015 16:14

Because they have to play the pro12 7th place first. So they have to play two games and the top14 only one - so the winner of Glaws vs pro12 7th gets home advantage in that game. This is a one off this year.

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Quel Carreleur
13/05/2015 18:57

TBH it really should be the challenge cup winner regardless of which league - no play-off required.

A man who cannot change his mind, cannot change anything

RAEBURN SHIELD

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hasta
13/05/2015 21:48

It's only the CC winner if they haven't already qualified. Otherwise it's just 7th prem, 7th T14, 7th pro12.

(Technically it's slightly more complex than that, particularly with the pro12, but I can't be bothered to go into it right now)

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Quel Carreleur
14/05/2015 02:58

I thought it was only the CC winner if they were English, and not already qualified; and who then had to play off against other teams.

It should be just the CC winner, regardless, no play-offs.

A man who cannot change his mind, cannot change anything

RAEBURN SHIELD

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hasta
14/05/2015 09:46

I'd definitely argue that the CC winner should take an auto-qualification spot, but I quite like the additional playoff. It certainly did wonders for Wasps confidence.

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Bath Mendip
14/05/2015 12:24

Quote:

hasta
I'd definitely argue that the CC winner should take an auto-qualification spot, but I quite like the additional playoff. It certainly did wonders for Wasps confidence.

Doesn't it seem strange that there is a Champions Cup place/opportunity provided for the Challenge Cup winners, but no automatic place for the Champions Cup winners themselves to allow them to defend their title ?

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hasta
14/05/2015 20:33

Well yes, that should also be there. Although I think the chances of a team winning the big cup and not finishing in the top 6 of their league is low.

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boozeboozebooze
14/05/2015 22:05

If you're going to do playoffs then surely the most logical way of doing this would be for it to be between:

7th placed Aviva
7th placed Top 14
8th placed Pro 12
Winner of Challenge Cup* BUT if already qualified for Champions Cup via league position, then that club's league gets an extra spot.

So for example, if an Aviva Prem team won the Challenge Cup AND finished 6th in the league, then the teams in 7th AND 8th would go through to the european playoffs.

Also for me playoffs have to have 4 teams. 3 feels very odd.

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hasta
14/05/2015 22:27

3 is just this year. I think the intention is:

7th Prem (H) vs 7th Pro12
7th Top14 (H) vs 8th Pro12

then winners play each other. Who plays 7th or 8th from the Pro12 would be a draw. (note it's only 7th and 8th because the Italian teams are in the bottom two - one of them gets a guaranteed spot)

I think Big Cup and Little Cup winners should be guaranteed a spot in the next year's Big Cup regardless of finishing position in their leagues. They just take a league position. So qualification should be:

Big Cup winner
Little Cup winner
6 from Prem (inc. above)
6 from Top14 (inc. above)
7 from Pro12 (inc. above and at least one Irish, Welsh, Scottish, Italian)
1 from playoff (next 4 best)

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joethefanatic
16/05/2015 06:55

I'm liking "BIG CUP" and "Little Cup" very much indeed. Stolen from The Fiver in the grauniad?

... IMHO, of course.

Now in Honolulu

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hasta
16/05/2015 08:14

If so very accidental as I haven't read the fiver! The acronyms for both are the same, so just seemed the quickest shorthand!

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