Morale Boost? Bath v Wasps ECC. ADD TEAM NEWS HERE
Faletau: return
By P G Tips
January 9 2019
Both sides will be looking for a boost to morale in Saturday’s European dead rubber between Bath and Wasps. Neither has anything to play for in Europe and both are in real need of a lift to power their domestic seasons. While Bath were conspiring to throw away a 16-point lead last Saturday, Wasps grabbed only their second win in all tournaments since September. Confidence will be on the up in the Wasps camp, while Bath enjoy home advantage so which will end the day in smiles?
Wasps’ revival was given a shot in the arm by the return of 3 iconic players- Launchbury, Hughes and Robson and the improved form of the so far inconsistent Sopoaga. Those four brought renewed leadership, experience, go-forward and control to help Wasps edge their match with Saints- even if the final score owed much to fortune. Bath meanwhile were rueing their fortune – no generosity from officials for them- but whatever the details of the offences, cards and refereeing controversy, it was their own lacklustre showing in the second half that proved their undoing. Mid table is so tight that these contrasting results brought significant short term moves- Wasps evaded the relegation zone to rise to 6th while Bath squandered a chance of 4th and slipped down to 8th.
Seeking small crumbs of comfort Bath know that they can breach the Wasps defence as they have 7 times already this season, that their visitors’ defence is more porous and that on the last encounter they disrupted the lineout on which many of Wasps attacking moves are based. The return of Launchbury and Hughes will make that task tougher, so fans will hope for a strong showing from Attwood, Stooke and Ewels.
With European hopes gone both clubs could be excused for looking ahead to the return of Premiership action in mid February. Selections will be constrained not just by injuries and international considerations but also by Champions Cup registration. Within those restrictions coaches may choose to rotate and experiment in preparation for more pressing Premiership fixtures. Wasps have already sent Elliott Daly on his week’s obligatory EPC rest, but their match 23 should still contain many familiar names. As well as a backline full of flair, Bath must beware the visitors’ back row – Shields and Young made 30 tackles between them against Saints – without missing one. Their potency in turnover, allied to Hughes and Carr’s carrying ability should pose a major threat.
Tom Ellis’s injury last week, hard on the heels of one to Sam Underhill, leaves Bath’s loose forward resources stretched. Paul Grant is not registered for Europe, so Taulupe Faletau’s expected return is good news for fans. He is likely to join Louw and Mercer, or Levi Douglas may get the call to vary selection. Ross Batty’s three week ban suggests a start for Jack Walker while Henry Thomas should be rested to keep him fresh for later matches. Jackson Willison and Tom Homer are both fit and may get a start.
Whatever the selection Bath cannot afford another slip or loss of intensity like last week. In a nip and tuck season poor performance and disappointing results tend to become a habit, while determination, focus and consistency eventually get their reward. Bath need to improve their discipline, take every scoring chance and play with intensity for the full 80 (or even 90) minutes. They could also do with a little luck – but that is out of their hands. If, in front of a home crowd, they can deliver those things that are in their own control, and perform as they did against Leicester they can win, rebuild dented pride and move on.
Possible Teams:
Bath:V Rooyen, Walker, Perenise, Attwood, Charteris, Mercer, Louw, Faletau Chudley (Capt.), Priestland, Vuna, Wilson, Willison, Rokodoguni. Homer.
Replacements: Noguera, V Vuuren, Lahiff, Stooke, Bayliss, Green, Burns, Brew.
Wasps: Zhvania, Cruse, Cooper-Woolley; Launchbury (Capt.), Rowlands; Shields, Young, Hughes. Robson, Sopoaga. Bassett, De Jongh, Campagnaro, Watson. Le Roux.
Replacements: Harris, Harris, Stuart, Myall, Carr. Hampson, Searle, Lovobalavu
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Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 2019:01:16:10:17:15 by P G Tips.
Adopted players: 24/25 J Bayliss; [24] O Lawrence; [23] J Cokanasiga; [22] M Green; [21] A Watson; [20] T Faletau; [19] M V Vuuren; [18] T Faletau; [17] D Denton; [16] H. Agulla; [15] L Houston; [14] W Spencer; [13] F. Louw
Family . Community . Nation - [sdp.org.uk]
My mind's been going places without me lately - Bushfire The B52's
[24/25 adoptee: Francois van Wyk]
Or will we go for the momentum/feel good factor of a win approach?
Actually, the Wasps injuries may effectively pick their team and we adjust accordingly.
I'm going for a mixed balance of the above with a win not guaranteed, but very useful considering how our season has gone so far.
What Todd Blackadder wants from Bath Rugby's dead rubbers
"We want to give guys opportunities, continue to grow and be better so that a lot of the basics are embedded well before we have a break (January 26-27).
"The next two games are about creating and confirming what our DNA is. Then we want to freshen up and have a really good break, send the guys away from each other.
[24/25 adoptee: Francois van Wyk]
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2019:01:10:11:41:35 by BathMatt53.
I would have thought that we could play a 2nd team for this game without attracting any sort of opprobrium, but the following week against Toulouse we might be a bit more under the microscope given that our result could impact on final standing of Toulouse/Leinster.
Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 2019:01:11:11:12:36 by Bath Hammer.
14. Tom Homer
13. Max Clark
12. Max Wright
11. Aled Brew
10. Rhys Priestland
9. Max Green
1. Jacques van Rooyen
2. Jack Walker
3. Max Lahiff
4. Elliott Stooke
5. Luke Charteris (c)
6. Taulupe Faletau
7. Josh Bayliss
8. Zach Mercer
Replacements
16. Michael van Vuuren
17. Lucas Noguera
18. Sam Nixon
19. Dave Attwood
20. Francois Louw
21. Chris Cook
22. Alex Davies
23. Jackson Willison
Cruse
Stuart
Launchbury
Rowlands
Shields
Young
Hughes
Robson
Sopoaga
De Jongh
Campagnaro
Bassett
Neal
Miller
.... we are going to get absolutely humped!
Fair bit of rotation - let's also see what Homer, Clark, Green, Cook, Bayliss and Noguera have to offer.
PG
Wasps (First-team appearances)
15 Rob Miller (92)
14 Ross Neal (8)
13 Michele Campagnaro (4)
12 Juan de Jongh (37)
11 Josh Bassett (92)
10 Lima Sopoaga (15)
9 Dan Robson (93)
1 Zurabi Zhvania (14)
2 Tom Cruse (50)
3 Will Stuart (23)
4 Joe Launchbury (c) (133)
5 Will Rowlands (64)
6 Brad Shields (8)
7 Thomas Young (101)
8 Nathan Hughes (117)
Replacements
16 Antonio Harris (13)
17 Ben Harris (35)
18 Jake Cooper-Woolley (122)
19 Charlie Matthews (8)
20 Nizaam Carr (24)
21 Craig Hampson (26)
22 Billy Searle (9)
23 Gaby Lovobalavu (2
PG
[24/25 adoptee: Francois van Wyk]
I actually think it will be a pretty even game. You would hope a lot of our XV will be chomping at the bit.
Will be good to see Stuart play if it’s true we’re looking to sign him!
I think it's momentum for them. High risk - if our rotated squad beat them, then they could lose any feel good feeling after Saints
Out of interest why have we started converting these one off match related threads into Stickies? I'm not a fan of stickies but I see the benefit for information that you might want to routinely return through during the season (i.e injuries list). Match threads should surely just come .. and then go ....
HOP
Quote:ballsout
Not a fan of stickied threads, I actually miss them more than I do normal ones.
Ahem ... note to eds.
Quote:OptimistQuote:ballsout
Not a fan of stickied threads, I actually miss them more than I do normal ones.
Ahem ... note to eds.
Being done for financial reasons, we will soon get used to it.
[24/25 adoptee: Francois van Wyk]
It isn't a case of it being a "hassle to raise my eyeballs 3 degrees up", just that I often miss the threads.
Adopted players: 24/25 J Bayliss; [24] O Lawrence; [23] J Cokanasiga; [22] M Green; [21] A Watson; [20] T Faletau; [19] M V Vuuren; [18] T Faletau; [17] D Denton; [16] H. Agulla; [15] L Houston; [14] W Spencer; [13] F. Louw
Family . Community . Nation - [sdp.org.uk]
My mind's been going places without me lately - Bushfire The B52's
[24/25 adoptee: Francois van Wyk]
Quote:Susanne
Do we know what w who we have as ref?
Ben Whitehouse
Dai'll have to get his boots back on at this rate. Finances are the issue I'm assuming?
Quote:Rawce
Wasps have let go of Mullan (injured since Feb) and Ambrose Curtis today (only 1 appearance in the Prem Cup).
Dai'll have to get his boots back on at this rate. Finances are the issue I'm assuming?
Wasp in peace just checking the match thread ahead of this weekend as our site is down (again)!
Curtis hasn't played a minute of Prem rugby yet and doesn't seem to have settled, has grown himself a deal in French D2, presumably for more game time.
Mullan is an interesting one, couldn't tell you the last time he actually played for us due to injuries so would guess it's more due to that than finances, although it will undoubtedly free up space in the cap as his last contract was signed as club co-captain.
Re the strength,hopefully, we need to get people like Launchbury & Robson back playing with the team, hopefully without any further injuries.
Quote:Clarkey3k
Oddschecker betting site has Bath by a whisker, I posted a similar phrase last week...
Bookies eh, what do they know?