Should this season end as all of us hope it does, there will undoubtedly be moments we remember with a smile—those key turning points that truly mattered. Small passages of play that gain significance as the season's narrative unfolds.One of those should be François van Wyk's try at The Stoop back in mid-October, before the clocks went back. With a quarter of the game to go, Quins led by 10 and looked in control. A du Toit try got us back within a score, but it was van Wyk's short-range drive in the left-hand corner with two minutes to go that sealed the points.
It was Game 5 of the league season—the difference between Bath being (if you'll forgive the American phrasing) 4-1 rather than 3-2. We went on to smash Sale a week later and entered the Autumn International break top of the table. Five months later, we are still there.
Van Wyk's try felt important at the time. It sealed a third away win from three, for one thing. More importantly, it suggested we could win the arm wrestles—the tight games when we weren’t at our best. None of our first four games had gone to the wire. Perhaps, we mused, the 24-25 vintage Bath had added a bit of extra steel.
Looking back, that first Quins game revealed a theme we've seen time and again this season—not least last Sunday against Gloucester: the 6-2 split and the Bath Bomb. At The Stoop, van Wyk, du Toit, Annett, Hill, and Ewan Richards all arrived on or around the critical hour mark to turn the tide. Quins may have started fastest, but our now-characteristic second-half dominance was already on show.
Quins will need no reminder of that second-half strength. Several of the players they are likely to field on Saturday were at The Rec for the Premiership Cup Quarter Final a month ago, where they were swept away after they had made another fast start. It will be interesting to see how they manage their 23 this time. Bath’s bench strength is no secret, and doubtless opposition coaches are plotting ways to counteract it.
Whatever their approach, Quins won’t lack motivation. Sitting fourth in the league, they are a win behind Tigers in third and just ahead of Glaws, Sale, and Sarries. The playoffs are very much within reach if they finish the season strongly. An impressive away win at Sarries last week was a great start to the run-in.
Quins also have the small matter of a European Champions Cup knockout tie at Saracens next week. Beating Leinster in Dublin is unlikely, but they will surely want to give themselves a shot. Will that impact their selection this week?
Whatever their selection strategy, I expect we'll see Marcus Smith back after a week in the sun. With every passing week, the opportunities to audition for Lions shirts decrease, and he will relish the chance to go head-to-head with Finn.
And what of Bath? More of the same, please.
It speaks volumes about our progress that a comfortable six-try beating of our oldest local rivals was described by many as "satisfactory but a little ring rusty post-Six Nations." Not long ago, we would have given anything just to beat Gloucester 3-0, let alone 42-26.
Another bonus-point win would put us very close to guaranteeing a Top 4 spot and within sight of the Top 2. To that end, I expect more rotation against Pau the following week and a full-strength team for Quins. A few tweaks, perhaps—Underhill and Hill to start? Butt in for Redpath? Sela on the bench instead of Stuart?
One thing I hope has been discussed this week is not giving Quins too much ball in broken play or off poor kicks. Like Bristol and Gloucester, they have the skill set to score from deep and rack up tries quickly. If we have an Achilles’ heel this year, it’s our ability to defend when teams cut loose and we lose our shape. Exhibit A: Bristol at The Rec. Exhibit B: the first half last Sunday.
Rugby, for all its laws, is a simple game at heart, and JVG’s power-based approach reflects that. If we play to our strengths and keep our discipline, we should be just fine.
Let’s hope for another one of those moments to look back on with a smile come season’s end.
6 day turnaround always a bit of a challenge so tempting to freshen things up a bit although we often use bench pretty early and with 6:2 splits not many ever have 80 mins in their legs from the previous match.
Is tempting to go v strong again and then trust the squad to cover the absence of stuart and finn against pau.
OutsideBath Wouldn't disagree with that suggestion, but in doing so we will be pretty much giving away the chance of winning in Pau.
I don't agree, Bath have enough quality players in multiple positions to be able to rotate / rest and still put out a team more than capable of holding its own. As long as they don't go as light as vs Treviso (who had some brilliant players such as Tommaso Menoncello and Malakai Fekitoa remember) they can compete with most teams in that little Euro comp.
I agree BathMatt. We lost the game against Treviso (who are rapidly becoming to the Italian National squad what Leinster are to the Irish) in the last play of the game, having competed well up until then, especially in the second half. I think JvG will look to the wider squad for Pau, using a lot of the Treviso team augmented by some of the Premiership Cup winning squad. We’ve got to go strong in the Prem.
I’d go Underhill, Reid, Hill/Barbeary this week in the back row with Pepper on the bench. If you manage Quins at the breakdown that goes a long way to beating them.
I’d also give Stuart his rest this week so he can play in Pau and TdT can have that week off but not sure that’s the way things will work out.
Replacements: 16 Niall Annett, 17 Francois van Wyk, 18 Thomas du Toit, 19 Guy Pepper, 20 Sam Underhill, 21 Tom Carr-Smith, 22 Will Butt, 23 Jaco Coetzee
IMPACT PLAYERS:
16. Sam Riley (65)
17. Jordan Els (44)
18. Wyn Jones (15)
19. Joe Launchbury (36)
20. George Hammond (76)
21. Lucas Schmid (7)
22. Danny Care (390)
23. Jamie Benson (17)
Well matched teams, like their backs. Pleased Will Evans not available for them. Our second rows more mobile and clear advantage to us on the bench... Bath by 10 with a BP!
Great to see Joe back, although thought McConnochie has filled in well in his absence.
Quins have predictably brought back their big guns, however as usual the strength of the benches may be a deciding factor.
On the front row battle, I do think there's an opportunity to go after Quins. Baxter is undoubtedly a talent, but I think he's been a tad overhyped, there have been a few occasions this season where he's gone up against seasoned scrummagers and been found out (hopefully Stuart has shared any intel from the England squad with TdT). Also Lamositele hasn't looked particularly solid at TH, I see him as a noticeable downgrade on Collier.
theredseat Wyn Jones having to cover tighthead is good news for us. Especially as Lamositele is hardly known for his conditioning.
Bath by 13
Good spot! That really does put even more importance on Lamositele to stay on the pitch, I wonder if Quins will put a running ban on him to preserve his energy (probably every prop's dream).
Looking back through the records I can see Jones' has played TH 7 times in his 197 career appearances, with his last being on 18th November 2023. Will be quite an ask to prop up the scrum (excuse the pun) against FvW.
Well, that's next week we'll be resting Stuart and Russell; immediately followed by another week off for fallow (anyone know why the need for a fallow week there?) before Exeter and Newcastle.
It'll be interesting to see how JvG approaches Pau - no-one else should be needing a rest after just 3 matches on from the 6N period, then would we prefer a QF or a week on the beach?
If we get the win against Quins, I'd probably go strong against Pau, and then mix and match against Exeter and Newcastle, both of whom we've recently beaten, away, with our 2nd XV. Maybe not going with a full PRC 23, but certainly filtering in the regulars and ultra-talents from there.
If we lose to Quins tomorrow, then I'd be more inclined to go week in the Champ Cup, and make damned sure against Ex and Newc.
The Quins game selection does seem to confirm we’re going down the Treviso game selection route for Pau.
Pau will fully rotate this weekend as they’re away to Toulouse so will be at full strength for the challenge cup. An under strength Bath is going to struggle.
Who plays instead of Finn at Pay given that Bailey won’t have played for quite a while?
I’d like to win the Challenge Cup but in all honesty I’m not going to lose any sleep if we go there and lose while giving some first teamers chance to rest up for the run in.
There’s still a few players that can feature who haven’t played loads of rugby recently (Ewels, Roux, Pepper, Underhill, Bayliss, Ojomoh, Muir, TdG) so it doesn’t have to be a full bin juice line up.
I wouldn’t be surprised if the Newcastle game has already been earmarked for rotation. We beat their full strength team up there without the big names so good chance for a few to get a weekend off (maybe two Challenge Cup dependent) ahead of that Bristol game
I know you didn't mean this thereadseat... but our 'full bin juice line up' beat Exeter 1s XV to win a trophy!
I'd have confidence sending Ewan Richards' Blue Black & White army to the south of France. Wonder if that is what JvG has planned? You hear a lot how every player in the squad knows when they're going to be playing long ahead of time, so maybe after the cup win, the young guys were told to focus solely on the Challenge Cup now. I'd be happy with a young XV with a stacked bench in France. Even if we went down fighting, what an experience, and then we can focus solely on the Prem.
Great squad for tomorrow. Back row depth is ridiculous and so nice to see Maloney and JCok back. Hopefully, our power game has too much for them and, as others have said, no Evans is a plus. I would box kick and chase like hell then run Barbeary, then Reid, then Hill, then Beno down the 10 channel for the first 50 minutes.
Any win will do but hopefully another week of Finn and Mojo in harmony should throw up some nice looking shapes, too.
theredseat so it doesn’t have to be a full bin juice line up.
Agree with Dr Bath, unlike some clubs, I'm not sure that Bath actually have 'bin juice'. Pretty much everyone will have experienced good game time of some description.
[24/25 adoptee: Francois van Wyk]
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2025:03:28:13:58:22 by BathMatt53.
Only a turn of phrase. Just meant it may not be the full Prem Cup line up given we have a few senior players who may not particularly need the week off
I think our '16th player' this year is our Head of S&C.
Whatever their equivalent of a sponge and a dab of Deep Heat is - it's pretty darn effective at getting players off the physio table and back on the pitch.
Optimist I think our '16th player' this year is our Head of S&C.
Whatever their equivalent of a sponge and a dab of Deep Heat is - it's pretty darn effective at getting players off the physio table and back on the pitch.
Tyler Offiah
Opinion is based on assumptions, whereas fact is based on observation or research.
I guess they're playing slightly fewer matches with a smaller Prem, too, so have less opportunity to get injured and a bit more time to recover. Such a large and high quality squad, too - I'm sure an injury to Lawrence, Cam, Archie Griffin, Underhill etc would've been more noticeable and had a bigger impact than it does now - i.e. 'Oh, Sam Underhill's crocked, better select Pepper or Reid then'. But yes, S & C seem to be very effective at getting players back and firing on or ahead of schedule. Just as long as Finn stays fit ...
Another one for the 'no Evans a big plus' club. An absolute pain the a** whenever I watch him. Delighted to see no Dombrandt either - different (and far more effective) beast for Quins so they're two big losses.
Their backline always worries me though. Let's hope they're starved of the ball because it's a talented set of players for sure.
Couldn't agree more, Opti. Obviously hard to know if it's a contributing factor or an outcome (i.e. we're better coached so we defend less so pick up fewer contact injuries). But you could make a good argument that our improved injury record is the single biggest driver of our success in the last 2 seasons. We had a great squad before- but half of them were always injured.
March 2025
O Lawrence, S Harris... A N Other?
March 2024
CHRIS CLOETE, TOM DE GLANVILLE, JOSH MCNALLY, GJ VAN VELZE
March 2023
Alfie Barbeary, Joe Cokanasiga, Jaco Coetzee, Piers Francis, Will Stuart and Sam Underhill, , Gabriel Hamer-Webb, Ted Hill, Quinn Roux
March 2022* note also Underhill and Faletau returned from injury for this game!
Unavailable due to injury, loan or international duty: Tom Ellis, Cameron Redpath, Juan Schoeman, Beno Obano, Anthony Watson, Ruaridh McConnochie, Tom Dunn, Johannes Jonker, Tian Schoeman, Gabriel Hamer-Webb, Ethan Staddon, Josh McNally, Miles Reid, Will Muir, Darren Atkins, Kieran Verden, Max Green, Nathan Hughes, Charlie Ewels and Will Stuart.
2024/25 adoptee: Guy Pepper
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2025:03:28:18:46:47 by dr.bath1865.
Bath Supporter Jack As a matter of interest Tom Ellis, appears above in the excellent analysis produced by Dr.Bath1865 in the injured players for 2022.
He left us and went to Sale and Saracens and is now head of rugby at Sutton Valence School in Kent a Saracens affiliated school.....
Completely off topic but does this mean he's now jacked in playing? Can't see mention of him anywhere. We were neighbours for a while and always enjoyed talking to him. Really nice lad and at one time (c. 2019) seemed like he'd get an England call up.
Smith's yellow should have been a PT.
I thought live that Spencer should have queried it, but with the replay, there's no other defenders in place, and 2m out, it's a walk in.
Nailed on PT.
And as I type, TBP is scored straight off the restart
Which Tyler Asleep or with 2 very important defenders injured?
Northmores was an excellent try from excellent play, not a reflection on the defence, for me.
TBF didn’t notice Ewells down initially.
Seems to have revived us anyway. Hoping we can start crumbling their scrum when our subs come on.
Fair enough, and yes, TdT and FvW must be licking their lips at the idea of going up against a pair of LHPs whilst having the freedom of a good lead on the scoreboard.
Which Tyler Bristol out 50 on 9th placed Exeter => Bristol are invincible, well never beat them
Bath (shoulda already) put 50 on 4th place Quins => ???
Is anyone actually saying they’re invincible and we can’t beat them? I think it’s more the case that for whatever reason we struggle against them more than others.
Which Tyler Bristol out 50 on 9th placed Exeter => Bristol are invincible, well never beat them
Bath (shoulda already) put 50 on 4th place Quins => ???
Is anyone actually saying they’re invincible and we can’t beat them? I think it’s more the case that for whatever reason we struggle against them more than others.
last week, not quite. But the hyperbole a couple of months ago annoyed me
Honestly, this ref has given us absolutely nothing at the breakdown. And we've butchered at least two tries. And the lineout has been poor (particularly Annett). It's a very weird time to be a bath fan 😁
hasta Honestly, this ref has given us absolutely nothing at the breakdown. And we've butchered at least two tries. And the lineout has been poor (particularly Annett). It's a very weird time to be a bath fan 😁
Quins constantly in at the side, couple of times at least crawling on deck - yeah underwhelming but probably equally poor for both sides.
What fun it is to watch this squad right now. So much to enjoy, with huge forward power and some beautiful backs play. Finn and Mojo are really growing together.
Bit concerned about Ewels’ ribs. Also, anyone else see Herbst (him again) hit Dunny off the ball, potentially high, in the second half? Looked horrible and wasn’t looked at.
Watched the game live. That first 20 minutes was about the best I've ever seen us play. Really, really impressive. And then we, understandably, took our collective feet off the pedal. Title winning sides don't do that . And we bombed 3 5m line outs in the last 15 minutes and you just can't do that against tighter sides than Quins, either. So we still have much to learn. But these are minor gripes on what was a pretty comprehensive demolition of a very good rugby side. You'd imagine that the other teams probably won't want to play us now until they really have to.
The most startling sight of the whole game was Mojo at full chat for 60 meters and JC4 just cruising alongside him giving him a running commentary!
My MotM - Mojo. Not for his attack but for his defence. The Quins back line just couldn't get around him and so stalled when they should have had us in trouble. That kind of thing is what's going to win us silverware.
Amazing place to be in really where we can comprehensively put away a decent opposition like that and it still doesn’t quite feel like a perfect performance.
Thought our ruck speed was outstanding early on and Russell and Spencer had cracking games. Ojomoh, Muir and Dunn all stand outs as well.
Agree with the other comment about the breakdown. Ref didn’t seem keen to reward jackalling at all today and was constantly saying there was no clear release or that the player was on the body not the ball. Rare to see the breakdown reffed that way these days.
A word for van Wyk as well. It felt a bit of an uninspiring pick when we arrived if I’m honest but he’s been absolutely rock solid in everything he’s done since he got here and his work rate is really good.
Absolutely no right to be on that support line today as a prop mind you
Agreed theredseat but if you watch it back then it is a classic experience prop line. He is about 15m ahead of Butt when he makes a break and loiters until he is in the game.
I think we blew 4 clear try scoring opportunities in the second half. Makes you wonder if they really click for a full 80!
Agree about the jackals not being rewards today.
Also missed a monster forward pass that eventually led to the baby faced assassin's try.
theredseat A word for van Wyk as well. It felt a bit of an uninspiring pick when we arrived if I’m honest but he’s been absolutely rock solid in everything he’s done since he got here and his work rate is really good.
Absolutely no right to be on that support line today as a prop mind you
I was thinking similar thoughts, arrived as 3rd choice from Tigers (?) but is much improved here. Fair play to him. Thought TdG worthy of motm today, rock solid all afternoon with good carries and breaks going forward. A chip off the old block. I can't see anyone in the Prem beating us atm....
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
It’s a bit like the fitness and S&C thing. Consistent and high quality coaching are turning good players into very good ones.
I think Dunn mentioned that this season is the first in his 14 at Bath that the coaching team is the same as last. Helps the stars like Finn to build the structures, but must help the likes of VV to slot in from the bench/wider squad and take their game to the next level.
Thought Reid was huge today too. Richard Hill esque in his industry.
Toga Do Bath fans ever wonder how on earth the club affords it or are you just enjoying the ride until the SCD catches up with the paperwork?
We afford it because Bruce Craig has lots of money and is happy to spend it on the club. There’s also income from ticket sales, merchandise, various sponsorships and commercial agreements that sort of thing.
Toga Do Bath fans ever wonder how on earth the club affords it or are you just enjoying the ride until the SCD catches up with the paperwork?
Yes.
But then we look at the squad, and the squads of other teams, and realise that it's really no more expensive than 4-5 others.
We then compare it to cheating-era Saracens, and realise that it's far cheaper than that squad.
Beyond that, we are aware that the Salary cap comissioner was given far more teeth, and far more communication with teams post-2020, and feel reassured that there's nothing nefarious going on.
And finally, we are aware that the Prem winners submit their accounts to a forensic audit, and that as a club hoping/expecting to win the Prem, that our accounts will stand up to a forensic audit.
And we realise that these complaints against us are founded on jealousy, and nothing to do with the cost of our squad.
So feel free to take your tears elsewhere
Toga Do Bath fans ever wonder how on earth the club affords it or are you just enjoying the ride until the SCD catches up with the paperwork?
Yes.
But then we look at the squad, and the squads of other teams, and realise that it's really no more expensive than 4-5 others.
We then compare it to cheating-era Saracens, and realise that it's far cheaper than that squad.
Beyond that, we are aware that the Salary cap comissioner was given far more teeth, and far more communication with teams post-2020, and feel reassured that there's nothing nefarious going on.
And finally, we are aware that the Prem winners submit their accounts to a forensic audit, and that as a club hoping/expecting to win the Prem, that our accounts will stand up to a forensic audit.
And we realise that these complaints against us are founded on jealousy, and nothing to do with the cost of our squad.
So feel free to take your tears elsewhere
Some minor gripes from me:
Thought we butchered some v v good chances- not a good habit to get into when tougher challenges await
Get a bit frustrated with cam- can be v hot headed giving daft pens away (not yest tbf) , leaping out of defensive line for a miracle play, and dropped a sitter. Only being harsh as he could be world class but I would actually play butt and mojo at mo personally.
Lineout fell apart- seemed ok when ewels went off? Was more when annett came on for dunn?
Positives- too many to list, we are a v v good rugby team and have a squad with great depth!
We could put ourselves in a position where we are able to manage the squad leading into the knock out stages of prem (and maybe latter stages of Europe if we get through next week)
There was a post match interview with Mojo where he said he was travelling reserve for the final last year and 'that cannot happen again'. Loved the attitude.
Completely agree OB. You have to pinch yourself to remember that it was only a few short years ago when we were at our lowest, and trips to the Rec were tortuous. It’s such fun now- and the place is rocking.
Interesting, how I feel at the Rec this season, for the first 70 minutes of a match, is enjoyment of course, but also abject fear that we’re not going to reach our potential. Almost more pressure watching and knowing we should win well than watching and expecting us to knock on everything after 3 phases and get trounced.
Another fantastic team performance, I'm not sure I can articulate how satisfying it is to go into the final 10 minutes with the game in the bag, as opposed to previous seasons where I'd be giving myself an impromptu manicure with my incisors as Bath contrived to throw away a lead in the dying moments.
The backline is really starting to purr now, having Will and Joe back on the wings just adds a whole new threat out wide, and Max seems to be knitting the strike plays together beautifully.
With all the talk about England's search for centres, I was interested to watch how Beard/Northmore got on, as both have been talked up by some as potential options for the national team. I have to say I wasn't overly impressed, there was obviously the totally butchered try by Northmore, but I thought defensively they were all over the shop. Of course some credit has to go to Bath's attack, which was looking slick all afternoon, but there were several occasions where they seemed to just let our backs eat up the metres. With Atikinson going well for Gloucester as well I wonder if the pecking order for the Argentina tour is shifting.
boozeboozebooze With Atikinson going well for Gloucester as well I wonder if the pecking order for the Argentina tour is shifting.
Yes, I agree See Atkinson was impressive for Glaws on both fronts, If we are looking for 12s I think Will Ring at Exeter has promise and might well duo better when Hawkins leaves. Lost track of Hartley at Sarries, I thought he was developing OK but off the radar now.
Tyler Offiah
Opinion is based on assumptions, whereas fact is based on observation or research.
Charlieboa1 Some minor gripes from me:
Thought we butchered some v v good chances- not a good habit to get into when tougher challenges await
Get a bit frustrated with cam- can be v hot headed giving daft pens away (not yest tbf) , leaping out of defensive line for a miracle play, and dropped a sitter. Only being harsh as he could be world class but I would actually play butt and mojo at mo personally.
Agree with this, We make incisive breaks and then throw them away with a bit of white line fever rather than wait for support. TDG has also been guilty of this in the last two games. The pressure with be on next season as Carreras just seems a perfect link in that respect.
Also too many of our last passes are forward (Joe C) so that line pressure just disappears.
Tyler Offiah
Opinion is based on assumptions, whereas fact is based on observation or research.
Deeg has come on as a player in the past couple of seasons. He was always an attack minded player who would do the hard work and make breaks, but lacked confidence to finish moves off. Now he looks much more assured in backing himself to go for the line rather than slow to try to offload to someone else.
I don’t think he’ll make it to international level, but he’s certainly going to be a stalwart club player for a long time.
It's not like he's not used to being pushed by competition, what with this being his first year as first choice FB, having seen off the challenge of JvG's comfort blanket Matt Gallagher (And Sam Harris' terrible luck with injuries... again).
I think TdG has come into his own this year because he knows he's not going to be dropped straight away if he makes a mistake. That confidence has really brought him on this year; and hopefully sees him in good stead for JvG to rotate the back 3 the same way he rotates the front row, backrow and centres.
hasta I dunno man, if my club was so synonymous with egregious cheating that Ross Kemp made a documentary about it, I'd be tempted to keep my head down.
Can I please point out that Toga is a Saracens fan.
hasta I dunno man, if my club was so synonymous with egregious cheating that Ross Kemp made a documentary about it, I'd be tempted to keep my head down.
Can I please point out that Toga is a Saracens fan.
hasta I dunno man, if my club was so synonymous with egregious cheating that Ross Kemp made a documentary about it, I'd be tempted to keep my head down.
Can I please point out that Toga is a Saracens fan.
He hates Quins and regularly trolls on our board.
My apologies.
No problem. Quite amusing, though, being trolled about the salary cap by a Sarries fan.
Great all round performance, echo earlier posts about fun returning to the Rec, especially in comparison to those dark Hooper days.
Happy to see Horse get motm, however both TdG and Alfie were both up there with him.
Watched the game last night after being away for the weekend. Excellent performance - confidence is just oozing from the team at the moment, you can see it from the kick off. Visiting teams are similarly arriving at the Rec not expecting a win, in recent matches the visiting teams are making really uncharacteristic mistakes in the same way as Bath would have done for their away games in most seasons from about 2016 to 2023.
Hard to point to performace of the day, I thought that every single player made a positive contribution - the try by VW off the break from Butt emphasising that 1-23 are all on the same page.
Coming back to the Butt v Redpath chat I'm in favour of Butt as first pick at first centre. Cam has fantastic feet but not so distribution. He takes the ball into contact but gets wrapped up and the attack phase slows right down. Butt has more power and can bust a tackle, not as well as Ollie but better than Cam. I hope he gets a shot v Pau, we will need some midfield muscle in that game...
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
I thought Joe C had a very good game. Try apart, he got involved more in midfield, defended well and made a strong contribution in the air. His handling also seemed more secure.
P G Tips I thought Joe C had a very good game. Try apart, he got involved more in midfield, defended well and made a strong contribution in the air. His handling also seemed more secure.
Good to see him back.
PG
I started off by typing who I thought had a good game then realised that i had basically typed in the names of all the team...
P G Tips I thought Joe C had a very good game. Try apart, he got involved more in midfield, defended well and made a strong contribution in the air. His handling also seemed more secure.
Good to see him back.
PG
Probably has a career as a drill sergeant in him after his playing days. Didn't let Max slack off at all on that interception.
I appreciate they are subjective, but the score for Barbeary is ludicrous and based on someone who thinks a back row is only having a good game if they get 5+ metres over the gain line every carry.
In reality those punishing smaller gains at the start of the match end up being creating the holes at the end and are just as important.
Any Bath player could justifiably been named man of the match, however if someone from the losing team could get the award Chandler Cunningham-South from Quins could have been nominated.
I appreciate they are subjective, but the score for Barbeary is ludicrous and based on someone who thinks a back row is only having a good game if they get 5+ metres over the gain line every carry.
In reality those punishing smaller gains at the start of the match end up being creating the holes at the end and are just as important.
Agree and think the score for Redpath is equally harsh. Just based on uncharacteristic error. Big tho it was, I thought the rest of his game was sound
I had a quick look back through the match reports for the season and the MOTM awards are an interesting race in themselves. So far Lawrence and Pepper are tied on 3 apiece, Muir has 2, Spencer, Reid, and Hill have 1 each. In the two losses they (as expected) went to the opposition, Oghre for Bristol and Fin Smith for Saints.
Dorset Boy Just seen that Isgro was cited and has received a 3 match ban, the yellow he was given being upgraded to a red.
Good job we still humped Quins......
Yes and this inconsistency is the biggest issue at the moment with the head contact protocols IMO
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