Quins on the Rebound, Friday 28 November

Bath seem fated this month to play teams on the rebound. First Newcastle visited the Rec having blown an LV lead against Cardiff Blues, then Bath had a trip to Reading to face a London Irish side smarting from a humbling by Sale.

 Sale are in the background again on Friday evening after snatching a late win last Friday from Quins at the Stoop. Of the 3 wounded beasts Bath face in the Premiership this month, Quins would seem the most dangerous. Below par this season they may be, languishing only 8th in the table against Bath’s respectable 3rd, but they remain a pedigree club. Winners 3 seasons ago, they have been constant Top 4 performers since. This coming weekend, they, like Bath, will be missing key leaders to international duty. However, they have an experienced international core in the pivotal area of the team: Easter at No8 and the halfbacks, Care & Evans. Coach Conor O’Shea is a wily operator and a shrewd motivator, so he is bound to have a few tricks up his sleeve and bring the Harlequins to Bath fired up in search of redemption. Another nailbiter is due.

Backing up the pivotal trio, Quins have a promising front row –young props Lambert & Sinckler supporting former Rec man Ward, plus the hardnosed experience of Robson and the exuberant loose play of Wallace. Behind the scrum the backs are likely to be fleet of foot and full of flair rather than direct. In this age of behemoth backlines it is refreshing to contemplate a contest between two midfields who will seek to penetrate by footwork and pace, rather than by the bludgeoning charge. That is, of course, if Quins do not choose to start with Turner-Hall. If they do, Bath can counter by bringing their own big men- Banahan & Rokodoguni in off the wing. Both last seasons’ meetings were tense affairs & both were lit up by moments of individual brilliance by a Bath midfield back.  Both were played outside the international windows. Unfortunately, this Friday, Stuart Lancaster looks like requiring at least 2 of Bath’s backline, with four the worst case scenario. Such absences will only encourage Quins –even if they must do without their try scorer from last year, Mike Brown. They must surely fancy their chances.

This though, is a Friday night fixture and a home game. “Fortress Rec” is becoming true this season – only Toulouse (by 2 points) have won in Bath and the home Aviva Premiership record remains intact. It was a Friday night fixture against Quins 2 seasons ago which sparked a revival in Bath’s fortunes that season – Stephen Donald outlaying opposite number Nick Evans in 2 battles of the boot: the tactical direction and the goal kicking contest. Disruption by international call ups may cramp Bath’s style behind the scrum, but the return to action of Garvey & Fearns reinforces a pack in which the bench players have shone over the past 3 weeks. Expect the forwards to call the shots and win the battle for territory & possession. Should either Eastmond or Rokoduguni return they can slot in as they did last weekend. If Bath’s loose trio can keep Care under wraps and the home crowd can show the passion they generated for the Saracens visit, Bath will take this –but it is unlikely to be pretty and should be close.

Possible Teams:
Bath
James, Batty, Thomas, Hooper, Day, Garvey, Sisi, Houston, Cook, Henson, Banahan, Devoto, Joseph, Rokodoguni, Arscott
Bench: Auterac, Dunn, Palma-Newport, Ewels, Fearns, Young, Clark, Woodburn

Harlequins:

 Lambert, Ward, Sinckler, Robson,Clifford , Wallace, Easter. Care, Evans, Lindsay-Hague, Casson, Hopper, Walker

Bench:Marfo, Buchanan, Collier, Twomey, Trayfoot ,  Dickson, Swiel, Turner-Hall