Match Preview: Derby double & a date with destiny?

George can kick it
By PG Tips
April 7 2014

Bath travel to Gloucester this weekend with much to play for. A Gloucester-Bath derby carries plenty of significance in its own right. This weekend there is also the little matter of “the last four for top 4” – the final series of matches to decide the playoff places.

This year an intrepid band of cyclists, led by Lee Mears and David Trick and including your correspondent, are expecting an unusual welcome from the Shed faithful after cycling to the match from Bath in aid of the Bath Rugby Foundation. Bath may be the most hated of rivals, but Shed men do like to see the charity activities of the rugby community, wherever from.

Gloucester’s squad may contain a few Bath Old boys: Tindall, Hudson & Burns among them, although the last may not even make the bench if recent selections are a guide. Mike Tindall will be hoping for better luck this weekend than he had last Saturday with Monbeg Dude. Gloucester have seemed most unlike the Gloucester of old lately – more known for exciting backs than a gnarled pack.

Even more uncharacteristic is their poor run of results this season, putting Director of Rugby Nigel Davies under a pressure which would no doubt gain some relief from a derby win. Too far adrift to have a realistic chance of a Top 6 finish, Gloucester played a strong side in their Amlin Quarter Final against Wasps last weekend but still lost, despite scoring three tries. All the more motivation therefore, for team and supporters to claim West Country bragging rights.

The Gloucester pack, which has frightened very few sides this season, should be guaranteed to raise its game for Bath while the backline spells danger in many areas. Centre pairing Twelvetrees and Tindall are a traditional mix of guile and power while Jonny May, often criticised as too crablike, frequently creates chances for teammates with his elusive cross field rambles. He is also capable of devastating bursts through the middle.

A traditionally tough fixture will be spiced more than usual by the context for both teams. Bath must view this match as a “winnable” and now a “must win” if the ambition of a Top 4 place is to be realised. In their own Amlin Quarter Final on Sunday, Bath played with a freedom rarely seen in recent Premiership matches, running in six tries for a comfortable win. The margin of victory could have been greater though as Bath seemed to relax too much in the last 20. A more rigorous attitude will be needed to subdue Gloucester at Kingsholm and the travelling faithful are unlikely to be fussy about how victory is achieved. Several players made strong cases for selection for this crucial fixture: notably Carl Fearns, Micky Young, Horacio Agulla and Man of the Match Gavin Henson. Any or all of these could be included, but the game is likely to be too soon for the returns of Webber, Louw or Joseph.

One selection which seems nailed on is George Ford at 10. Bath fans will hope he rediscovers his kicking boots after a couple of wayward matches: derbies are often decided by small margins and the reassurance of a reliable kicker can be as valuable as the points themselves. If George can keep the Cherry & Whites on the back foot with both tactical kicking and his shots at goal, Bath should have too much all round. A double in a derby beckons. Expect it to be a full-blooded affair though with the result in doubt until the final minutes. Bath by 5.

Possible Bath team: James, Batty, Wilson, Hooper, Attwood, Garvey, Fearns, Houston, Stringer, Ford, Rokoduguni, Henson, Eastmond, Agulla Abendanon

Bench: Catt, Guinazou, Perenise, Day, Mercer, Young, Devoto, Watson

Gloucester: Wood, Dawidiuk, Knight, Stooke, James, Kalamafoni, Kvesic, B. Morgan. Cowan, Mills , May, Twelvetrees, Tindall, Sharples, Cook.