Bath to Bounce Back in Europe

After the horror show, the fairy tale. Wasps move to the Ricoh Stadium seemed to their supporters to be something dreamed up by Count Frankenstein, but at 50 minutes in during Sunday’s match it was Bath with the stake through the heart.

 The Adams family saw their team hold out against Bath’s comeback after gaining a monstrous 29-0 lead. Now both clubs look forward to the fabled new European competition they qualified for at the end of last season.

The fairytale? The European Champions Cup – a level playing field for the competing teams, run by the clubs themselves and a wish come true for Bath who have lacked top tier European rugby for the past few seasons.   With only 20 teams the new Cup threatens to be even more demanding than it’s Heineken predecessor. If there is an easy pool it is the one containing Treviso but Bath cannot claim to be in the only “Pool of Death”. Glasgow, Montpellier & Toulouse are a daunting prospect indeed- but is Pool 4 any harder than Sale’s draw in Pool 1 (Clermont, Munster & Saracens)?

First up for Bath is Glasgow at Scotstoun. The centre of gravity in Scots rugby has shifted in the professional era from the Borders, via Edinburgh to Glasgow who now stand near the head of the Guinness Pro 12, tucked in behind leaders Ospreys. The Clydesiders boats plenty of pedigree: Murray, Kellock & Fusaro up front, Maitland & Hogg behind –to name a few. The are shrewdly coached by one time Scotland and Lions stand off Gregor Townsend and have been in fine try scoring form in the pro 12 so far this season.

So how will Bath approach this match after succumbing on Sunday at Adams Park? Changes may well be needed. These should not be made in panic or anger, but possibly a rest here, a promotion there, may rejuvenate a squad who have given a huge amount in a demanding last foursome of fixtures. Will the coaches rotate the front row? Certainly the scrum seemed to settle and then to dominate with Catt & Thomas at the coalface. Supporters will be concerned about the increasingly slim back row resources available if Alfie Fa’osiliva does not recover in time to play. David Sisi showed enough to deserve a start if needed, but is either Max Northcote-Green or Ellis ready for a bench slot? There has even been the tantalising prospect bandied about of Steffon Armitage appearing in Bath’s squad – apparently now shelved as Toulon & Bath could not agree the terms of transfer. If changes are made they are likely to be young ones, so there could be a need to compensate with experience elsewhere. What better stage for a first 2014-15 AP start for Peter Stringer?

Bath will look to attack as always, but will hopefully also seek to play the percentages, get the edge up front in both scrum and lineout and, above all – keep discipline. The season so far has shown that Bath will not put in two under par performances in a row. Expect them to surge back this weekend. It may not be enough at Glasgow, but it will be close.

Possible Teams:
Bath: Catt, Webber, Thomas, hooper, attwood, Sisi, Mercer, Houston. Stringer, Ford, Watson, Eastmond, Joseph, Rokodoguni. Henson
Bench: Auterac, Batty, Wilson, Day, Northcote-Green, Young, Devoto, Woodburn.

Glasgow warriors: Reid, MacArthur, Murray, Kellock, Swinson, Harley, Fusaro, Strauss. Pyrgos, Weir, Seymour, Lamont, Bennett, Maitland. Hogg
Bench: Bryce, Yanuyanotawa, De Klerk, Ryder, Ashe, Matawalu, Downey, van Der Merwe