Bargain Basement

Bath host London Irish in a basement battle this Saturday. Although 10 league points and a game in hand separate Bath from Irish the basement tag is no hyperbole. Irish must be relegation favourites, while Bath, realistically out of the playoff race, languish in ninth place, 14 league points behind sixth placed Harlequins. More than mere numbers though, it is the paucity of winning performances recently which gives a tinge of desperation to Bath’s position and suggest that climbing the table will be a tough task. Irish, who themselves have much ground to make up on their relegation rivals, will come to the Rec prepared to fight for their very existence. So, what should we expect?  

Irish have found some dangerous attacking form recently, getting back into a try scoring habit they seemed to have lost. However, they also have a poor discipline record, with one of their veteran heroes, David Paice the lead culprit. Their forwards are combative, especially in the back row where Luke Narraway has been in fine form and in Elliott Stooke bring a threat both in lineout and ruck who will want to impress his future employers. Behind the scrum, Theo Brophy Clews is developing into a steady game manager at fly half, while pundits are enthusing about the pace of Maitland and Lewington, as well as the direct style of Williams and Mulchrone.

Bath will feel though that this is a chance to turn the corner. The selected squad is the strongest available, including Rhys Priestland returning from Wales duty and Ollie Devoto recovered from concussion protocol.  The key area though is likely to be the back row – as so often in matches between teams close in league position. Here Bath can hope to have the edge. Matt Garvey, restored to his best slot at 6, has lifted the pack performance from the bench of late. He gets a start to give Leroy Houston some respite, while Francois Louw provides world class experience and pedigree and Amanaki Mafi has been a revelation in his three appearances to date. A six –two bench split further enhances the loose forwards as Guy Mercer can be brought on to scavenge in the closing stages.  Number eight and fly half look set to be the key deciders for the home team. Fan reaction to the two internationals concerned is varied: Priestland is thought by many to be an expensive luxury because of his Wales commitments, while there is pleasant surprise at the value Mafi has brought to the team – both in performance and attitude.

With Priestland to direct and kick the goals, a potent backline of speed, strength and guile, Bath ought to be too strong in attack for Irish. If Mafi can inspire the rest of the pack with his “up and at ‘em” style, there could be a bonus point in it. It is sure to be a tough encounter at first, but I expect Bath to pull away in the last quarter. If they do, both Priestland and Mafi may be regarded as a bargain. Bath by ten.