Match Preview: Go with the Flo

By Ed Scott
December 15 2011

This Saturday Bath travel to Dublin for the away leg of our Heineken Cup double header with Leinster. We cannot look in it in any other way other that this is one of the toughest possible fixtures to get in this competition. Last weekend Ian McGeechan said that Bath would have to produce the performance of their lives to win, well, this weekend they will need that and more.

In my preview for the home game, I finished by stating that we needed a performance of passion and commitment from Bath, not just to stand a chance, but to get us back on the right foot. I have to say that I felt the players gave it everything. Yes we could have won, yes Leinster were poor at times, but you play what is in front of you and I felt we showed aggression, determination and heart.

Francios Louw took the captain's armband for the day and was superb. I am glad to hear that he will be taking over in Hooper's absence. Yes he gave away a couple of penalties at the end, but that was not the reason why we lost the game. His ability to cause havoc at the breakdown slowed up their ball and gave us key turnovers. I also felt that Guy Mercer had one of his best games in a Bath shirt, injuries have their advantages as he is taking his opportunity and fast developing into a cracking openside.

What was also key for me lay within the half-backs. I have been critical of Claassens of late (as have many) but I felt he was much improved on Sunday; faster delivery, no dithering, and better decision making. I can only assume that this is the influence of Stephen Donald. He seems to boss the game well and it is clear to see that Claassens is far better when he has confidence and guidance from someone at 10. Donald stood very flat on the gainline giving us go forward as well as a running threat. I hope he has shaken off the knock that seemed to bother him in the second half.

Heading back to the match at the Aviva Stadium, we need to be realistic and know that a loss will put us out of the cup. I don't think a win is out of the question, as we have seen, but our lack of depth in the match day squad I feel will hurt us. Leinster had the luxury last weekend of having the likes of Reddan, Healy and Jennings on the bench to bring on. The majority of our reserves were academy lads and will struggle to give us the boost that you often need in the last 15 minutes. As such I feel that our first half must be strong to stop them again bringing on fresh (international level) legs and dominating the closing stages of the game.

Bath having nothing to lose on Saturday, they are massive underdogs, and of the 45,000 people in attendance, few will be cheering for the boys in blue, black and white. This means however that they can play with freedom and use the crowd to spur themselves on. No one expects us to win, but perhaps that will lull Leinster into a false sense of security? We can but hope!

It looks like who is fit will dominate the team selection decisions, Ben Williams looks set to replace Danny Hipkiss should he not recover from his injury in time. Ross Batty is also likely to return but will apparently bench, with Chris Biller retaining the hooker's jersey. The rest of the team will probably remain the same as there are few other options.

We are plagued with injuries, and I know that if we could just get the same team playing together regularly we could still make an impact this season. I feel that things could click soon in the backline and that the pack are improving slowly. The odds are stacked against Bath, but I'll still be viewing with hope and passion. I would again simply ask our players for the same effort from last weekend, it was something I was proud to watch. One thing is for sure, we'll get nothing less than everything from our stand in captain - let's just hope the rest are with him.

Match Preview: Go with the Flo

Posted by: BathRugbyEre.co.uk (IP Logged)

Date: 15/12/2011 18:30

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Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2011:12:19:21:25:47 by Glen The Ed.