Bath vs Irish - Saturday

[Puja]

Bath Rugby side to face London Irish

15. Anthony Watson, 14. Semesa Rokoduguni, 13. Jonathan Joseph, 12. Josh Matavesi, 11. Ruaridh McConnochie, 10. Rhys Priestland, 9. Ben Spencer; 1. Lewis Boyce, 2. Tom Dunn, 3. Will Stuart, 4. Josh McNally, 5. Charlie Ewels (C), 6. Zach Mercer, 7. Sam Underhill, 8. Taulupe Faletau.
Replacements

16. Jack Walker, 17. Beno Obano, 18. Christian Judge, 19. Elliott Stooke, 20. Josh Bayliss, 21. Will Chudley, 22. Cameron Redpath, 23. Tom de Glanville



London Irish

15. Tom Parton, 14. Ben Loader, 13. Curtis Rona, 12. Terrence Hepetema, 11. Ollie Hassell-Collins, 10. Paddy Jackson, 9. Nick Phipps, 1. Harry Elrington, 2. Motu Matu’u, 3. Sekope Kepu, 4. Ben Donnell, 5. George Nott, 6. Matt Rogerson, 7. Seán O’Brien ©, 8. Albert Tuisue
Replacements

16 Matt Cornish, 17 Will Goodrick-Clarke, 18 Ollie Hoskins, 19 Sebastian de Chaves, 20 Blair Cowan, 21 Ben Meehan, 22 Theo Brophy Clews, 23 Matt Williams

[FKAS]

That LI tight five might be up for a miserable afternoon. Bath must fancy this, be interesting to see if Hooper eases off on the pragmatic, 3 point score increases tactics and lets them play. That Bath backline has plenty of running ability.

[fivepointer]

Cannot see anything other than a very comfortable home win. Irish will be hard pressed up front and behind, though its good to see them field a young English back 3.
Bath have a terrific front row on the bench, which might turn the screw just a bit more. Interested to see how much gametime Redpath and deGlanville get.

[Epaminondas Pules]

Cannot see anything other than a very comfortable home win. Irish will be hard pressed up front and behind, though its good to see them field a young English back 3.
Bath have a terrific front row on the bench, which might turn the screw just a bit more. Interested to see how much gametime Redpath and deGlanville get.

Having Redpath come on with those players around him is an ideal way to get him into the system. Hope he gets some proper game time. From what I gather from a couple of local friends is that he has really impressed since they've come back into training.

[Banquo]

Is Coka still crocka?

[Timbo]

Is Coka still crocka?

Hooper says he’s now fit, just building him back up physically.

[Scrumhead]

That LI tight five might be up for a miserable afternoon. Bath must fancy this, be interesting to see if Hooper eases off on the pragmatic, 3 point score increases tactics and lets them play. That Bath backline has plenty of running ability.

I hope so.

The Irish second row in particular looks very lightweight. I haven’t seen anything of Donnell but I know he’s well regarded. I like Nott and would like to see him make a proper breakthrough. Pairing them together against a much more experienced Bath pack feels a little mean though. They must be hanging on until Coleman gets back/Simmons arrives.

[Which Tyler]

Quick note, as were talking elsewhere about Sale having more Saffers than English.

20 Englishmen in Bath's 23 for tomorrow. Roko and Mata cancel each other out, as an English born Fijian and a Fiji born Englishman

[FKAS]

Quick note, as were talking elsewhere about Sale having more Saffers than English.

20 Englishmen in Bath's 23 for tomorrow. Roko and Mata cancel each other out, as an English born Fijian and a Fiji born Englishman

How many academy grads? 6?

Be interesting to see whether Redpath does a Moriarty and changes his international loyalty on the future.

Looks a good Bath team, should cover most bases though I think some of the better scrums would fancy themselves at scrum time. Boyce not being a destructive scrummager and Dunn not being the biggest. I'm still unconvinced by Stuart, he's not a bad player but at the minute I feel he's holding the back up shirt until one of Heyes/Painter/Street step up.

[Timbo]

Quick note, as were talking elsewhere about Sale having more Saffers than English.

20 Englishmen in Bath's 23 for tomorrow. Roko and Mata cancel each other out, as an English born Fijian and a Fiji born Englishman

How many academy grads? 6?

Be interesting to see whether Redpath does a Moriarty and changes his international loyalty on the future.

Looks a good Bath team, should cover most bases though I think some of the better scrums would fancy themselves at scrum time. Boyce not being a destructive scrummager and Dunn not being the biggest. I'm still unconvinced by Stuart, he's not a bad player but at the minute I feel he's holding the back up shirt until one of Heyes/Painter/Street step up.

I think you’re wrong on Stuart. He’s a serious talent imo and physical specimen. My only surprise is that it took probably about a year longer than I expected for him to really break through.

[FKAS]

Quick note, as were talking elsewhere about Sale having more Saffers than English.

20 Englishmen in Bath's 23 for tomorrow. Roko and Mata cancel each other out, as an English born Fijian and a Fiji born Englishman

How many academy grads? 6?

Be interesting to see whether Redpath does a Moriarty and changes his international loyalty on the future.

Looks a good Bath team, should cover most bases though I think some of the better scrums would fancy themselves at scrum time. Boyce not being a destructive scrummager and Dunn not being the biggest. I'm still unconvinced by Stuart, he's not a bad player but at the minute I feel he's holding the back up shirt until one of Heyes/Painter/Street step up.

I think you’re wrong on Stuart. He’s a serious talent imo and physical specimen. My only surprise is that it took probably about a year longer than I expected for him to really break through.

From an England perspective I'll happily see him prove me wrong. Being a physical specimen won't cut it. Heyes, Street and Painter are all units. Got to show some destructive scrummaging if he's going to be a fixture in the England side for an extended period. Mako Vunipola is the only one that gets away with being a bit average at the set piece.

[Scrumhead]

I’m with Timbo. I think Stuart is a lot better than you’re suggesting. Even if he’s not yet a convincingly ‘destructive’ scrummager, I would say he’s a weak scrummager either and he’s a significantly better carrier than the others you’ve mentioned.

I like what I’ve seen from Street and Heyes but until they’re genuinely challenging to be first choice, I think Stuart has a clear edge. I’m yet to be convinced by Painter. Sure he’s massive, but I have a pretty poor impression of him as a scrummager - he seems to be flat on his face too often for me - and he’s not yet learned to make his size count. He reminds me of a lesser version of Kieran Brookes.

[fivepointer]

Stuart is further along than the others. He is far better in the loose than any of them with very good hands and a big engine. Nice to have players in the pipeline who might eclipse him but for now i'm more than happy with him in the England setup.

[Which Tyler]

5 minutes!

Feeling a little out of my depth with this prop talk. I may be feeding you the ball - but please, don't eat it!

[Which Tyler]

I'm liking our new SH

[Which Tyler]

So glad CMK handled that we'll.

Couple of years ago that would have been an automatic yellow and replays to see if red

[Oakboy]

I'm liking our new SH

WT, I'll be interestef to hear your view, as the games stack up, on what his ceiling might be. I've looked at him so far and thought that he could be special but then he's had underwhelming games.

[Which Tyler]

I'm liking our new SH

WT, I'll be interestef to hear your view, as the games stack up, on what his ceiling might be. I've looked at him so far and thought that he could be special but then he's had underwhelming games.

6-8 years ago, I was very excited by him, and thought he'd be England's starting SH by now with 50-odd caps. 5 years ago I put a cheeky fiver on him scoring in the RWC19 final - got very excited again when he was called into the squad ahead of the final.

He didn't get the game time he needed in his early 20s though, and couldn't displace the De Kock or Wiggles worth, so never really developed as he should (there's just replacement for game-time, especially for half backs). He's got all the skills, but nopever developed the consistency, and is too keen on the box-kick for my taste.
Bath will be wanting to play off 9 this season (assuming Pollard isn't coming). Rhys isn't a playmaker any more, whilst the kids at FH will need someone to hold their hands. Both Ben and Will are used to playing off 9 - but both are used to playing boringly off 9, whilst we should be looking to be a bit more adventurous, though I don't expect too much too soon.
Ben and Will should make a good pairing that way, with Will being more reliable, but Ben being better skilled. I hope we don't pair them together too often though, as Green and Fox both look promising going forwards (Fox especially).

My hope is that we'll see a lot of rotation (in all positions) from now through April. I'd like to see Spencer starting with Rhys, and Fox getting 20-25 minutes one week, and Chudley starting with whichever young FH is the chosen one (once they've been eased in off the bench a few times), with Green on the bench the next (or midweeks, or less "important" weeks)

[Which Tyler]

Oh, and that JJ try - Inspired by Coka

https://www.premiershiprugby.com/video/ ... nus-point/

[fivepointer]

Spencer should have left Saracens 2/3 years ago. I think the move to Bath could be very good for him and for the club. So far, his international appearances have been limited but i havent given up on him becoming a fixture in the squad.
Good try yesterday showing his undoubted pace. JJ's finish was top drawer too.