By ChrisC
March 5 2012

Drive My Car                                                                                                                                             Rubber Soul was, in my estimation, a turning point for The Beatles and remains one of their best albums.  It contained well crafted music and was the start of musical adulthood for the iconic band. I can honestly say that it’s hard for me to name my favourite track, the album including such enduring songs as: Michelle, Nowhere Man, Norwegian Wood, In My Life and Drive My Car.

When Rubber Soul was first released back in 1965 my particular car was a second hand 1960 Ford Anglia 105E which, upon passing my driving test, I’d purchased for the princely sum of £165. 

That little maroon and grey car was the culmination of my youthful dreams, my own car!  OK maybe it didn’t have a heater and In Car Entertainment was by way of a small transistor radio that swung merrily from its carrying strap looped over the rear view mirror and which gave a certain whooshing cadence to the hits of the day, it’s also true that the car did break down a lot but I loved it anyway; my little “Dagenham Dustbin”. 

Since then I have been very fortunate to use and own some lovely cars, especially once a company car was part of my job.  The first of these though was a truly horrible, pale blue, Mk2 Ford Cortina which was a travesty of a motor car, it particularly seemed so as, flushed with the arrival of free transport (penal taxation of such perks was still to come), I’d parted with my own beautiful and beloved Rover 2000 (not the appalling SD1 but it’s predecessor, the lovely Pininfarina design).  It was a parting so painful I could have cried when her new owner drove her away, her white paintwork and pristine chrome sparkling in the sunlight of that autumn evening. I hope he was good to her. 

After that company cars came and went and we soon also had cars of our own but they were rarely of the quality of the company cars, although a Range Rover I bought my wife came close until it had to go when petrol prices started their inexorable rise and the 12 mpg of its American 3.5 litre engine was no longer sustainable. 

There were Audis, BMWs and Mercedes, but my favourite remains the Jaguar XJS sports coupe.  I had two of these in succession and they were beautiful but capricious mistresses. They squatted on our drive alongside the Range Rover seeming to have a permanent air of superior resentment at having to share a garage with the boxy, workmanlike Range Rover which, back then, weren’t the bling encrusted gin palaces they are now. The XJS seemed to be saying; “Honestly the company one is obliged to keep”! 

The first time I went to Bath was in that awful Cortina, making a visit to a furniture maker who was located in the suburbs of that lovely city.  The Managing Director took me for lunch at a restaurant in the city centre and en route we drove past The Recreation Ground, all the while, within the leather opulence of his car, cosseted against the chilly wind blowing off the Avon. 

I’ve been to “The Rec.” many times since then and it remains my favourite away venue even though I’ve been frozen, drenched and fried on various visits.  I guess an abiding memory is of being there on a Remembrance Day weekend and there was a one minute silence.  The ground was hushed with just the murmur of distant traffic noise and the rustling of the trees, through which the autumn sunlight filtered.  It was as beautiful as it was poignant. 

This Friday night though there’ll be little beauty as Bath Rugby host the Tigers in the semi-final of the LV=Cup. 

Tigers will meet a Bath side with their tails well and truly in the vertical after Worcester became the latest victim in the West Country side’s sixth win out of seven in all competitions.  Bath walloped the visitors from Sixways by administering a five try thumping (which should have been six had Mr Garner not got himself in the way of play) and ran out winners by 36 points to 17. Worcester getting two tries of their own through Luke Arscott and, the reputedly Welford Road bound, Miles Benjamin. 

The following day Tigers welcomed Gloucester to Welford Road. Tigers had the services of the erstwhile England first choice half back duo of Toby Flood and Ben Youngs at their disposal, although the ever short sighted England management saw fit to deny Manu Tuilagi some much needed game time in readiness for the forthcoming matches against France and Ireland. 

Tigers put in a magnificent performance and despatched Gloucester with something approaching disdain as they crushed them by 36 points to 3 with their own five try bonanza, including one from Ben Youngs who was at last playing with a smile on his face.  Toby Flood meanwhile conducted proceedings with the artistry and confidence of a Sir John Barbirolli.  What a shame they’ll have to be subjected to the England coaches again who’ll undo all that’s been achieved by the Tigers coaching team and a purring Tigers’ pack producing quick ball and making light of the Biblical conditions. 

The Bath pack has not always been the club’s strongest suit of late but they gave one of the most vaunted packs, that of Worcester, a very hard time and were extremely physical. 

Given their pre-eminent display it will be a hard call for the hitherto somewhat beleaguered Sir Ian McGeechan to make any unenforced changes and so we’ll hopefully see a “full tar” side as they push for the Heineken Cup qualification that winning this competition secures. 

Lee Mears will presumably be on England duty so his footballing skills will be missed by the hosts and Rhodesian Pieter Dixon could be on parade. With his presence the side will lose nothing in the scummaging stakes and he’s also powerful in loose play.  Charlie Beech, newly arrived from Wasps for this season, was preferred to stalwart David Flatman last Saturday but I’d not be surprised to see Flatman start, although he is still having issues with his distinctly odd binding technique that sees matches involving him turn into Ronnie Ronalde concerts. 

Duncan Bell started on the tight-head against the Warriors bringing experience and bulk with the exotically named Palma-Newport, which always reminds me of an entry on an airport departure board , on the bench.  If he’s fit, and purely from wanting to see him play, I hope that Anthony Perenise, Bath’s own tight-head Samoan juggernaut, is selected.  If anybody hasn’t seen this guy yet just imagine an older version of Tigers’ Logovi’i Mulipola, who continues to impress.  

Tigers’ front row really made the Gloucester trio suffer with Mulipola overcoming one of the form loose-heads in Nick Wood.  Marcos Ayerza meanwhile made Harden wish he was in Australia, or for that matter anywhere other than Welford Road on a wet Sunday afternoon.

Before Bath’s performance against Worcester’s own formidable pack I’d have said there was a distinct advantage to Tigers up front.  Now it remains to be seen whether the Bath front row can sustain its improvement and if they can then, with just five days rest, Tigers will need to be at their Cherry & White bashing best.

Speaking of the Cherry & Whites, one of their old boys; Dave Attwood is a fixture in the Bath second row these days and with Hooper injured I expect he’ll be joined again by the abrasive Irishman; Ryan Caldwell who often seems to be “involved”.  These two have the valuable commodity of regularly playing together and developing a good understanding so where the Bath line out was once merely a vehicle for their opponents regaining the ball, regardless of who threw the ball in, that’s changed and the set piece looks more assured now.

The superb George Skivington is currently playing his best rugby for Tigers and were he not off to London Irish to replace Toulon bound Nick Kennedy it would be hard to dislodge him next season.

It is also good to see Kitchener coming to his game, once again showing what an excellent venue Tigers is for the nurturing and development of young talent.

The locks look pretty well matched, all four being solid at the set piece and top class in the loose, however Tigers’ ace in the hole is in the shape of an extremely large Tongan called Steve Mafi who was simply wonderful in every aspect of play against a strong Gloucester duo and who could just give the visitors an edge.  Croft may have the reputation but I can’t see how, when he eventually returns from being demoralised by England, he can be selected ahead of Mafi if the incumbent retains this level of form.

On the matter of class and giving a team an edge I’d like to mention ten times a Springbok; Francois Louw. It’s not uncommon to see the media extol the virtues of a player (or coach) on the flimsiest of evidence however in Louw I can see the embodiment of the word “world class”. He’s a wonderful all court player and one that it’s hard to tire of watching, even if he’s in an opposition side.

In fact it’s not too far-fetched to say that if you drill down into a successful Bath move Mr Louw will be there.  Understudy Carl Fearns has been injured but is now back and with Moody still somewhere in the treatment room Bath have enviable strength in depth.

I must say I have always been a bit luke-warm about Simon Taylor as he somehow seemed a bit of a peripheral figure at Bath, belying his sixty-six caps for Scotland and for whom he put in some spectacular performances however from what I’ve seen of him this season he looks very much more engaged and if a full strength team is to be deployed he’ll join with Ben Skirving who’s become an every present rugged force in the Bath pack.

Tigers’ work at the breakdown has been a matter of concern this season has indeed that of Bath but there have been times when it’s given lie to the concerns and one of those occasions was last Sunday when Recreation Ground favourite; Julian Salvi was in fantastic form.

Thomas Waldrom also had one of his most influential matches however  I suspect the corrosive demands of England will rule him out of contention on Friday and it may prove necessary for Mafi to move to #8 with, the happily fit again, Craig Newby in the blind-side spot.

The breakdown should be fiercely contested and with Claassens in sparkling form around the fringes there will need be no slip ups from the Tigers and they’ll need to match the hosts in the pick and drive department where both teams were top class last weekend.

With Ben Youngs back wasting his time and talent with England and Micky Young still suspended on the whim of some dodgy Irish disciplinary Kangaroo Court doubtless James Grindal will start and look to continue his September Song before setting off for Bristol.

Bath’s big ticket signing; Stephen Donald is out injured until April and his stand in, youngster Tom Heathcote, is looking the real deal having the same composure and youthful brio as Tigers’ own George Ford who will be joining Grindal in the half-back department to build on his own burgeoning reputation.

Unless Grindal can replicate his sparkling recent form it’s hard not see an edge through the excellence of Claassens if his pack can get an edge as they did against Warriors.

Olly Barkley is once again providing a solid foundation at inside centre and of course provides a valuable kicking option to that of Heathcote and Vesty and it will be interesting to see if Twelvetrees retains the Tigers’ shirt should Allen be fit again.

I thought Twelvetrees had another solid outing against his putative team mates for next season, he was strong in defence and clearly benefitted from having a dominant pack in front and the experienced Flood and Matt Smith either side of him. He put in a cute grubber which Smith ran down with his underestimated pace and so it’s difficult to see why there should be a change in the Tigers’ centres.  Banahan may be too late returning from England duty to take part and if so I expect Carraro to be at outside centre, in which eventuality Twelvetrees’ defensive bulk will not be such a persuasive factor as it would were Banahan to be coming down the 12/13 channel like an enraged rhinoceros.

Aussie Matt Carraro is actually something of a favourite of mine in the Bath set up.  He’s not of the starry type that’s so beloved of the witless media, who, after the Six Nations staggers to a conclusion, will largely relegate rugby to that of a bit part player to the over weaning soccer coverage.  Carraro, like his recent partner at Full back; Sam Vesty, are the warp and weft of our sport.  Hugely committed and never failing in their tasks.  Lucky for them that they don’t have celebrity lifestyles, they just do their jobs and do them well.

Out wide Bath’s very own Cabbage Patch Kid; Tom Biggs is having a fantastic season.  My goodness he’s fast and he tackles like a little Tonka dump truck.  It’s difficult to admonish oppositions for kicking ball to him as it doesn’t much matter what they do as he pops up all over the place anyway and just streaks away.  In fact he’s more dangerous in broken play.

Another Bath player who’s caught my eye is young Ollie Woodburn in his debut Premiership season.  He rather reminds me of a young Tom Varndell as he’s very quick and he has that way of floating over the ground as if surfing on a hovercraft but unlike Varndell invariably backs himself.

The Bath backs are a very potent attacking force however they can doze off occasionally and Worcester exploited that tendency with Worcester’s Benjamin being a beneficiary of a lapse in concentration.

With Alex Tuilagi fit and in bone crushing form I suspect he’ll be looking for Tom Biggs to run at and over to produce road kill while the Yorkshireman will fancy his chances of dodging the not so fond embrace of Tigers’ Samoan leviathan. On Sunday Horacio Agulla continued with his impression of a pinball machine as he bounced and twisted and turned all to the increasing frustration of the opposition defenders he’s as hard to put down as a good book. The Tigers’ backs could have a good chance of breakouts even without the elegant skills of Tony Allen who, it will be remembered, cut Bath asunder in last year’s post Six Nations match at The Rec., which Tigers went on to win 37-6.

Sam Vesty will, if Abendanon is still injured, probably do another shift at full back and eye his mentor of old; Geordan Murphy who, after shaking off his post World Cup torpor, is now in great form and with the forecast for Friday evening in Bath being for showers I’d expect both full backs to test out each other’s abilities under a high damp ball a contest which history tells us may prove a stalemate and so we’ll see them both trying to run the ball up.

A damp Friday evening in Bath!! I can’t honestly see it being a classic and it will depend if the new found mojo of the hosts’ pack is maintained and if Tigers have recovered from Sunday’s match then it’ll be close.

Oh and if one or both Directors of Rugby decide to treat the match as part of a development competition, in accord with the original spirit of the thing, as Richard Cockerill mistakenly did when Tigers’ went down to Wales in the first round,  then ignore this piece even more than usual!

Bath v Tigers LV Preview

Discussion started by TheLeicesterTigers.co.uk , 05/03/2012 22:02

TheLeicesterTigers.co.uk
05/03/2012 22:02

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Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2012:03:12:22:13:25 by Tiggs.

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SK 88
05/03/2012 23:31

First of all good preview as always.

On the match its self rather than the article I'll be annoyed if we don't back some of the players that have earned this chance. I don't expect (nor ever want) a Llanelli type team but Forsyth, Pienaar, Lewington and Morris have earned a chance at the limelight as it was their form away to Quins which earned this game.

Ford will presumably start as Flood will surely be on England's bench but he is also another who has earned his shot.

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Duncan Keene
05/03/2012 23:40

Judging by the tweets it looks like Newby, Forsyth and Ford are up for it.

I reckon ayerza Waldrom and tuilagi may get a rest. My guess at a team:

Murphy
Hamilton
Forsyth
Twelvetrees
Morris
Ford
Grindal
Stanko
Hawkins
Logo
Skivington
Kitchener
Mafi
Woods
Newby

PS thanks again Chris, your stories are fantastic and preview thorough.

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Bri
06/03/2012 07:23

Bath fan,great preview,looking forward to see you on Friday.

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Rob
06/03/2012 09:46

Superb preview, again coming from a Bath fan!

My guess would be a tight game, ending with a 21-13 Bath win.

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Rich W
06/03/2012 09:57

I'd argue that Alex has just had a fortnight's rest with his injury and it makes sense to use him as much as we can now. He looked pretty sharp on Sunday and I'd play him in every game to the end of the season now. On Marcos I'm a bit uncertain - he's in such form that he will just want to play and play. You'd hate to see a rest break his hot streak but then we really want him playing like this over the next two months. I think I'd give him the week off. Ditto for Tank - after his time holding tackle-bags for the Ah F U Invitational XV and not being at Oval Park - I'd give him a well earned week off. Same with Chutes with Hawkins taking the starting berth and with Tom Youngs who, having been in the warm-up on Sunday and therefore seemingly fit again, reintroduced from the bench. The locks pick themselves on the basis of their being the ones available but I think the breakaways will feature Newbz and Woods alongside Mafi Might also start Bubbles and Morris at the back for Geordan and Horace. I think even if Allen is fit I'd stick with Billy - why risk a player we will have next year when the alternative seems to me in pretty decent form - though I'd like to see Forsythe get another go - maybe at 13 for Matt Smith who probably could actually do with a week off?

Anyway - thanks as always Chris - terrific.

...

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Purebob
06/03/2012 09:58

I should cut and paste these into a scrap book ! Cheers Chris !

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Johns
06/03/2012 10:30

If Tigers play can equal the quality of your previews Chris victory would be assured.

Thanks

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Duncan Keene
06/03/2012 10:58

Rich, your argument has persuaded me. I'd now go Tuilagi, Morris and Hamilton in the back three.

Think the rest of your suggestions were as per mine.

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ChrisC
06/03/2012 11:46

Isn't Morris injured?

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Rich W
06/03/2012 11:53

Ah - yes - I fear you are right Chris - my error.

...

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Tiggs
06/03/2012 12:32

Quote:

Purebob
I should cut and paste these into a scrap book ! Cheers Chris !

You can read all Chris' previews (and others too) by clicking on the "Match Preview" link on the LHS. The last 5 are listed, but the others are still there when you click through the link.

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Duncan Keene
06/03/2012 13:07

I missed Morris's injury. Maybe Smith on the wing.

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Rich W
06/03/2012 14:12

What about the speedy young academy winger - whose name I have forgotten?

...



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2012:03:06:14:19:29 by Rich W.

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ChrisC
06/03/2012 14:17

Lewington?

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Rich W
06/03/2012 14:20

That's 'im.

...

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Stopsy
06/03/2012 17:17

Many thanks Chris.

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SimW
06/03/2012 18:39

Flood and Waldrom released.

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marshie10
06/03/2012 19:41

Coming from another Bath fan, utterly outstanding preview!!!

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Tiggs
06/03/2012 20:20

Come here more often, you can read one like it every week !!

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Tigergeezer
06/03/2012 22:08

Being very well received on the Bath board, this preview - and deservedly so, it's a cracker.

In fact, the reaction of the Barfisti does bring the gracelessness of some of our erstwhile visitors into relief.

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mines a black rat
07/03/2012 13:33

I hope that the game is as good as the preview, a great read.

Come on you Bath!!

Have you found the Black Rat?? I have!!

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Frome Lurkers
07/03/2012 14:44

Best preview I've read all season from another of the Bath faithfull

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Yorkie
07/03/2012 15:04

Thanks Chris.

Excellent as always.

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Widcombe boy
08/03/2012 08:56

Great preview Chris, thoroughly enjoyable. Thanks and hears to a great game on Friday, forecast is improving.

What about the Cortina Mk 2 1600E?

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ChrisC
08/03/2012 10:25

I had one of those later and it was a much nicer car but iirc my first one was an "L" spec and which put the "B" into basic. Slow and rolled like a drunken sailor.

Actually I had a Cortina Mk3 which was even worse and that was followed by a Rover SD1 2600cc - it blew up!!

Then I had a Rover SD1 3500cc but it had a nasty habit of turning of all the electrics in a random manner - it was particularly exciting one night coming back from Birmingham on the M1 at about 11pm when it decided to have another "strike" When it was first delivered, brand new and after its PDI, it had 41 faults!

Then I had a couple of Granada GhiaX Estates which didn't really go in the wet and the first of my lovely XJS's arrived.

Glad you (and all those who also were kind enough to say they liked it) enjoyed the article.

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ka ora ka mate
09/03/2012 05:34

Chris: Oh and if one or both Directors of Rugby decide to treat the match as part of a development competition, in accord with the original spirit of the thing, as Richard Cockerill mistakenly did when Tigers’ went down to Wales in the first round, then ignore this piece even more than usual!

... crystal balls eh?

... I would ignore it as usual, but to claim 'Rubber Soul' had quality prevents such luxury

'Profit Motive' .. the Vaseline of genocides.

'Reality' .. the new cynicism

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ChrisC
09/03/2012 15:30

I've just listened to the album again on my iPod (how groovy am I?) not as good to listen to as the original vinyl but I think "In My Life" is probably my favourite track but it's a close run thing with "Girl"

">In My Life

">Girl



Edited 3 time(s). Last edit at 2012:03:09:15:37:53 by ChrisC.

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Rich W
09/03/2012 19:44

Nothing is as good as it was on vinyl! And I say that without my old fogey goggles on.

...

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