By Glen Leat
September 2 2004

Saturday September 4 at 3pm marks the start of another rugby season and aren't we glad to be getting back in the groove. Once again Bath start their campaign away from home, this time at Northampton to play the Saints but this year there is the complexity of not playing some of England's rugby elite

England's rugby stars have to have an 11-week break from playing under the Elite Player scheme and are restricted to playing just 40 minutes in this game which complicates matters as the coaches try to get the balance right on the pitch and bench. Mike Tindall has been left out of the squad because Bath want the option of lock Steve Borthwick on the bench. John Connolly said, “Mike will not feature this weekend. Under the RFU ruling he is not able to play more than 40 minutes and with Borthers in the same situation it means that we will leave Mike out in order to get the cover on the bench right for the game.”

There has also been some action on the Olly Barkley front with Bath hoping to secure clearance from the RFU on the basis that he didn't play very much during the summer. Connolly continued, "It now looks as though we might get special dispensation for Olly, as he played very little rugby over the summer. But as the squad has already been selected for the weekend we will be taking him as the 23rd man. We are fully in support of capping the number of games that the top players play." I'm confused, if we didn't need him because the team has been chosen why put in for a dispensation? Or was it that the RFU just took too long to get this sorted?

It's great to see our top players being protected from burn-out but how can we have a system where the country's top rugby competition is devalued by such a restrictions on players? Given the prices supporters are expected to shell out for match tickets they should be rewarded with seeing the best team a club can pick, not a pick'n'mix with fit internationals either left on the bench or sitting in the stands because they played for England during the summer. This rule may suit the clubs, players and RFU but I can't see how it is beneficial to the paying public! Perhaps I have missed something here and some kind soul will put me right.

With Lee Best now out injured, Matt Perry gets free reign in the full-back slot but it is great to see the return of the arch-finisher, Brendan Daniel. Daniel's few games for Bath last year left all supporters gagging for more as he looked capable of scoring almost every time he got the ball. It will also be exciting to see Bath's new potent weapon on the wing, Joe Maddock. The Mad Dog has a proven scoring record, crossing the whitewash 25 times in just 31 games both at Super Twelve and NPC level. Let's hope he reproduces this type of form for us because this was a particular area of weakness last season.

Robbie Fleck looked like a player ready to do something special following his long lay-off last season and with Catt and Maggs leaving the club and Tindall on regular international duty, the 29 year-old South African will be expected to grab the midfield by the scruff and make things happen. The flying wingers will also be hoping for a bit more ball than their predecessors got in recent years as a stagnant midfield failed to set up sufficient try scoring opportunities.

It's great to see Jonathan Humphries mark his final season in the game as skipper at Bath, an honour I hoped he would gain last season. But it's better late than never and this proud and passionate Taff will not want to end the season (and career) without a medal of some sort.

So what about the Saints? They's experienced quite a few changes in the off-season. Nick Beal, John Sleightholme Steve Williams and Budge Pountney have all retired, while Matt Dawson has gone to Wasps and Mark Connors to Tokyo. John Leslie has gone back to Otago, Jon Phillips to Bedford and Spaniard Oriol Ripol has moved to Bayonne.

Coach Wayne Smith has also returned home, as assistant coach to the All Blacks, handing over to South African Alan Solomons, who has recruited fellow countrymen. Robbie Kempson, Johan van Wyk, Selborne Boome, Wylie Human and the Springboks’ World Cup skipper Corne Krige. Aussie centre Mark Stcherbina transfers in from Biarritz and wing John Rudd from London Wasps to make a vastly different Saints dressing room than last year.

This is our first Cattless season for a very long time, so how will we get on? Bath by 5.

Possible Bath Team
15 Matt Perry 14 Joe Maddock 13 Spencer Davey 12 Robbie Fleck 11 Brendan Daniel 10 Chris Malone 9 Martin Wood 1 Matt Stevens 2 Jonathan Humphreys 3 Duncan Bell 4 Rob Fidler 5 Danny Grewcock 6 Andy Beattie 7 Michael Lipman 8 Zak Feaunati

Northampton Saints: 15 Bruce Reihana, 14 John Rudd, 13 Mark Tucker, 12 Marc Stcherbina, 11 Wylie Human, 10 Paul Grayson, 9 Mark Robinson, 8 Grant Seely, 7 Corne Krige (c), Andrew Blowers, Damien Browne, Selborne Boome, Robie Kempson, 2 Steve Thompson, 1 Tom Smith.
Replacements: 16 Dan Richmond, 17 Robbie Morris, 18 Matt Lord, 19 Darren Fox/Mark Soden, 20 Johnny Howard, 21 Shane Drahm, 22 Ben Cohen.

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Click here to read about the away encounter between Bath and Northampton earlier this season..

Click here to see the latest league table.

Click on to the Northampton Saints site for their perspective on things.

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

Biggest Win

Last Meetings (Bath scores first)