By Glen Leat
November 6 2003

Bath travel to Kingsholm having now lost stand-in stand-off, Chris Malone, for six weeks with a foot injury so another backline re-shuffle is required and Big Jack and Knuckles are scouring the the world of rugby for temporary replacements.

Paul Sampson has already been snapped up and another player, bureaucracy permitting, is reported to be on the way. Paul Sampson, who is eligible to play on Saturday , has been out for a season with a knee injury and Jack Rowell is confident that Sampson will be a useful addition to the squad. “Paul is an experienced player and has a proven Zurich Premiership record, as well as his international caps. He is a very quick young man with an eye for the line, but his ability to play either in the centre, on the wing or at full back will be a big boost to Bath."

In addition to Chris Malone's enforced absence, Bath currently have eleven other backs unavailable with Mike Catt, Iain Balshaw, Mike Tindall, Kevin Maggs and Simon Danielli all away on World Cup duty and Brendan Daniel, Alex Crockett, Jamie Williams, Lee Best, Spencer Davey, Tim Brasher  all sidelined due to injury. This is an unbelievable absence list for any team to bear: thank goodness the forwards are staying fit and ensuring we stand some chance of staying at the top of the pile!

This will be the first time ex-Glawster lock, Rob Fidler, has returned to play against the club for which he played 129 Premiership games (11 times against Bath) and he'll have to think twice before going in to the "away" dressing room. The Fidler family have lived and breathed Glawster for 30-odd years and Rob is bound to get a special welcome despite the fact he'll be wearing the dreaded blue, black and white of "Barf"; they'll be no animosity from the Shed to a great Glawster servant, in fact I bet he gets a special cheer as he runs on to the pitch!

So who will win? Well it sticks in my throat to say this but I think Glawster will win this on the strength of their amazing home record.

Probable Bath Line Up

15 Matt Perry 14 Jamie Williams(?) 13 Robbie Fleck 12 Andrew Higgins 11 Robbie Kydd(?)10 Olly Barkley 9  Martyn Wood 1  David Flatman 2 Jonathan Humphreys 3 Duncan Bell 4 Steve Borthwick 5 Rob Fidler 6 Andy Beattie 7 Michael Lipman 8 Zak Feaunati

Click on to the Glawster site for their perspective on things, though it's a bit quiet on here these days.

Click here to read about the encounter between Bath and Glawster earlier in the season.

In preparation for this clash let's have a look at a few recent statistics:

Played	26	%
Bath Won	18	69
Glawster	6	23
Drawn	2	8

Biggest Win

Bath	71 - 21	30 Apr 1997
Glawster	68 - 12	04 May 2002

(Bath Results First)

Date Result Venue Season: 2002-03 08 Feb 2003 16 - 29 Kingsholm 28 Sep 2002 21- 21 The Rec Season: 2001-02 04 May 2002 12- 68 Kingsholm 08 Dec 2001 12- 9 The Rec Season: 2000-01 24 Feb 2001 50 - 16 The Rec 09 Sep 2000 22 - 21 Kingsholm Season: 1999-00 08 Apr 2000 36 - 16 Kingsholm 10 Oct 1999 33 - 20 The Rec Season: 1998-99 02 Jan 1999 7 - 23 Kingsholm 26 Sep 1998 21 - 16 The Rec Season: 1997-98 18 Apr 1998 17 - 27 Kingsholm 11 Feb 1998 47 - 3 The Rec Season: 1996-97 30 Apr 1997 71 - 21 The Rec 21 Sep 1996 45 - 29 Kingsholm Season: 1995-96 10 Apr 1996 10 - 16 Kingsholm 16 Sep 1995 37 - 11 The Rec Season: 1994-95 04 Mar 1995 19 - 19 The Rec 01 Oct 1994 15 - 10 Kingsholm Season: 1993-94 12 Feb 1994 16 - 6 Kingsholm 02 Oct 1993 46 - 17 The Rec Season: 1992-93 13 Feb 1993 20 - 0 Kingsholm Season: 1991-92 29 Feb 1992 29 - 9 The Rec Season: 1990-91 06 Apr 1991 17 - 15 Kingsholm Season: 1989-90 23 Sep 1989 6 - 13 Kingsholm Season: 1988-89 24 Sep 1988 19 - 9 The Rec Season: 1987-88 30 Nov 1987 16 - 9 Kingsholm