PREVIEW: BATH V WASPS
Off to Bath
By Dobbin
September 10 2009
Bath. Ah, Bath. One day it'll be possible to do a preview of a Bath match without reference to their glory days in the amateur era...but that time has not yet come. Once they were the kings of English rugby. Under the guidance of Captain Jack Rowell they bestrode the domestic rugby scene like a West Country colossus.
Leicester and Wasps would occasionally summon up enough consistency to challenge them for a rare league title, but the odds were short at the beginning of each season that Rowell and his crew would be collecting the silverware in eight or nine months' time. Barnes, Guscott, Robinson, Dawe, Haag, Hall, de Glanville etc etc – yes, these great, enduring, down-to-earth and lovable characters filled the Bath team sheet and struck equal fear and wonderment into the hearts of opposition club-men up and down the land.
But then...then rugby went professional. Monthly pay-slips replaced dodgy brown envelopes. Everybody started training full-time, the swines. Wasps, who had only recently undertaken an experimental season during which they ran virtually every penalty (God bless the amateur era); Leicester, with the biggest crowds and the financial muscle to match; Gosforth, henceforth to be known as Newcastle Falcons, languishing in the old second division but powered by Sir John Hall's money; suddenly these clubs began to threaten the pretty city's hegemony (as Stuart Barnes would almost certainly term it). The old near-certainties began to crumble. The league title went, the domestic cup went and, after a brief Indian summer where bloody mindedness and Christophe Lamaison's wayward boot conspired to win them the third Heineken Cup, the trophy cabinet became bare (with the possible exception of a rag doll, I'm not sure). And bare is pretty much how it has remained ever since...
But...in recent seasons things have begun to turn around. Under the stewardship of Steve Meehan, the straight talking Australian who thinks it's okay to play on ice, Bath have begun to climb back up the league table, playing a brand of all-action, fifteen man rugby that is genuinely entertaining to watch, even when it's your team they're doing it to. Last season they finished in the top four of the Guinness Premiership for the second time in succession, and were knocked out of the Heineken Cup only by a late, last-gasp Julien Dupuy try for eventual finalists (and GP champions) Leicester. That's two solid seasons of achievement which they will be hoping to build on this year, possibly to the extent that someone will have to dig out that long forgotten tub of silver polish.
The only fly in the ointment might be the squad upheavals that took place in the summer, resulting in the departures of Justin Harrison, Michael Lipman, Alex Crockett and Andrew Higgins. Added to the earlier suspension of prop Matt Stevens and the inevitable disquiet over the manner of all these departures, it is hard to know what the focus is like in the Bath squad at the moment. A rather lacklustre defeat to Gloucester in the opening match of the season doesn't make the question go away.
So, what prospects for the game on Saturday. Bath come off that defeat to Gloucester while Wasps laboured to an opening weekend victory over fourteen man Harlequins. Wasps themselves have suffered an unusually high number of squad changes over the summer (if not the in the same unhappy circumstances as Bath's), so both teams will still be adjusting to new combinations, getting the incomers used to the patterns of play. Bath are missing world-cup winning South African fly-half Butch James and new recruit Luke Watson hasn't yet started with the club. Nevertheless, Bath have a spine of quality, experienced players to call on: hookers Lee Mears and Pieter Dixon, locks Stuart Hooper and the baby-eating Danny Grewcock, scrum-half Michael Claassens, and backs Shontayne Hape, Matt Banahan and Nick Abendanon. In addition, new openside flanker Julian Salvi looked impressive against Gloucester and Butch James's understudy, Ryan Davis, will surely not suffer from the same stage-fright at the Rec as he did on Sunday in front of the...um...parochial crowd that frequents Kingsholm.
Wasps have a decent record at the Rec. winning three out of our last six league games there, including the 42-34 victory in February 2008, a match that will live long in the memory. According to the Guinness Premiership web-site, Wasps have won 12, lost 13 and drawn 1 of their games against Bath since the Premiership began.
All of which makes this a difficult game to call. Both teams will certainly be aiming to improve from their opening performances. However, I favour home advantage and Bath's need to prove to their home fans that an inglorious summer is well and truly behind them: Bath by 5. (Hope I'm wrong though).
KEY MEN
Wasps: Whoever plays tight-head. The scrum was creaky against seven man Quins; we can't afford to give anything away in this area against Bath.
Bath: Nick Abendanon. A good runner who you'd expect to be looking to counter-attack; Wasps will need to watch him not only for his mazy running but also for his propensity to go down like Christian Ronaldo toting a hundred-weight of spuds if you so much as go near him.
Wasps: 15 Mark Van Gisbergen; 14 Tom Varndell, 13 Ben Jacobs, 12 Steve Kefu, 11 David Lemi; 10 Danny Cipriani, 9 Joe Simpson;
1 Tim Payne,
2 Rob Webber, 3 Ben Broster,
4 George Skivington, 5 Richard Birkett,
6 Joe Worsley,
7 Serge Betsen (capt.),
8 Dan Ward-Smith
Bench:
16 Joe Ward,
17 Charlie Beech,
18 Bob Baker,
19 Dan Leo,
20 John Hart,
21 Warren Fury,
22 Dave Walder,
23 Lachlan Mitchell
Bath: 15 Joe Maddock;
14 Matt Carraro,
13 Tom Cheeseman,
12 Shontayne Hape, 11 Matt Banahan;
10 Ryan Davis,
9 Michael Claassens (capt.);
1 David Flatman,
2 Lee Mears,
3 Duncan Bell,
4 Stuart Hooper, 5 Danny Grewcock,
6 Andy Beattie,
7 Julian Salvi, 8 Ben Skirving
Bench: 16 Pieter Dixon,
17 David Barnes,
18 Aaron Jarvis,
19 Peter Short, 20 Jonny Faamatuainu,
21 Scott Bemand,
22 Nicky Little, 23 Jack Cuthbert
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Well done, Dobbin, the first of many, I hope.
KevinTheB
www.justgiving.com/kevinbroadbent
Chris
Once a Wasp ALWAYS a Wasp
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2009:09:10:11:46:26 by wombles222.
Christchurch Wasp Esq.
his newspapers online .... His staff will have
to match this informative / entertaining review
to persuade me. bravo !
dixiewasp
’’Paint the whole world with a rainbow”
I'd be happy with a losing bonus point tbh.
Allez Allez Allez
I'm already getting acrophobia, what with the position we're in.
Roger
(And we will beat Bath by the way)
===
James
One incident stood out, not 10 yards from where I watched. Jez Guscott tap danced on a prone Fran Clough on the touch line. Naturally Clough took umbrage and moved Gussie on with a well aimed sock to the balls. Unfortunately the ref saw the latter incident, not the former, and sent Clough off. We held a narrow lead until late in the game only for Stuart Barnes to orchestrate a late rally. I think it was Tony Swift who did for us.
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2009:09:11:09:30:00 by dom.
I remember it well. But I believe Cloughie got his own back the following season scoring the winner late on.
From one of my medical textbooks:
Vertigo is dizziness often triggered by heights...
Vertigo is often used, incorrectly, to describe the fear of heights, but the correct term for this is acrophobia.
As a Wasps supporter either could have been used, but I prefer the latter - I'm afraid in case we have peaked too soon. We are, after all, used to acheiving dizzy heights.
Roger
Fear of building supports?
Golly
#may5thallezthon
Im off down to the bookies
Well written article, thanks.
I'm sorry, if you were right, I'd agree with you.
Quote:Tiger in the Bath
Lots of people really looking forward to Tom "The Tackler" Varndell bringing down Bananaman with one of his trade mark, crowd gasping, rib crunching tackles.
And I bet once Shaun has taught him how, people at Welford Road will all ask why he was sold!
Just look at Sackey, that wimp of a tackler from London Irish.
KevinTheB
www.justgiving.com/kevinbroadbent
Quote:KevinTheBQuote:Tiger in the Bath
Lots of people really looking forward to Tom "The Tackler" Varndell bringing down Bananaman with one of his trade mark, crowd gasping, rib crunching tackles.
And I bet once Shaun has taught him how, people at Welford Road will all ask why he was sold!
Just look at Sackey, that wimp of a tackler from London Irish.
Exactly, the number of times I have seen Paul make try saving challenges in the corner for us. Hopefully he can work his magic on Tom and make him an all round winger.
The Wasps Blog
Twitter: @thewaspsblog
Indeed Bendy is injured, but others have taken his place!
Quote:KevinTheBQuote:Tiger in the Bath
Lots of people really looking forward to Tom "The Tackler" Varndell bringing down Bananaman with one of his trade mark, crowd gasping, rib crunching tackles.
And I bet once Shaun has taught him how, people at Welford Road will all ask why he was sold!
Just look at Sackey, that wimp of a tackler from London Irish.
Silk purse running forward ball in hand, sow's ear in defence. No shortage of high class and effective tacklers at Welford Road who clearly have been well schooled. I was never any good at Physics at school but it wasn't the teacher's fault.
I wish him well as do all Tigers fans, but it would be something of a miracle transformation if it were to happen.