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By Behind the Bench
March 31 2016

Despite a disappointing campaign, in the aftermath of their run to the Premiership final, you'd be a fool to write off Bath, whose backline seem to have regained some of their attacking edge in recent weeks, not only through the return of the buoyant England contingent of Anthony Watson, Jonathan Joseph and George Ford, but some strong form by Semesa Rokoduguni, who has been on the fringes of the international side this season, and Matt Banahan. The defence gave an improved showing too in last Saturday's derby win at Gloucester.

It's two months to the day that Bath travelled to NW4 and took a 13-0 half time lead, requiring a best ever Premiership comeback for Saracens to earn the win. A subdued first half had Bath scoring a try reminiscent of last season's effort as forward power and a fine running line served up a try for Tom Homer, augmented by a pair of Rhys Priestland penalties. The visiting defence was back to its best too, making almost double the number of tackles as the hosts, but paid for their failure to close out the game as a burst of 13 points in the last ten minutes secured a dramatic win, as Schalk Brits got the home side's only try, converted by Charlie Hodgson, who also converted a quartet of penalties. Again showing a clear level of forward dominance, they failed to convert the pressure into clear chances in their next match, losing 15-11 at home to Gloucester. With the sustained poor form looking to sink the Somerset side into an unthinkable relegation battle, they earnt a vital 16-14 win at Worcester Warriors, as they rode their luck to score ten unanswered points after the break. Wasps were then the visitors to the Rec and they reprised their European win earlier in the campaign with a 24-18 win in which the hosts edged possession and territory, but missed 30 tackles, with a modest 72% tackle success rate. The trip to Exeter brought two tries apiece in a 26-17 defeat, but Japanese number 8 Amanaki Mafi's brace proved insufficient as the visitors gave away too many penalties. 
 
In stark contrast to last season, the only try bonus point earnt all season was in the away game at London Irish, and they repeated the feat as Irish visited Somerset as the start of March. In a match which saw Bath put together some good running rugby, featuring 17 line breaks, as well as being relatively solid in the scrum and lineout, two tries came from Matt Banahan, who topped 100 metres in the game, with further contributions from Rokoduguni and Leroy Houston. In another free-flowing game at the Stoop, the visitors trailed 35-6 shortly after the break, but showed spirit to force a losing bonus point as it finished 35-28 to Quins, but back at home, they really needed to grind out a 21-19 win against Newcastle Falcons, as their discipline caused problems at times, but Rokoduguni continued his good form with another pair of tries. A continuation of their recent record at Kingsholm brings the story up to date as two more Rokoduguni tries, and an opening score from Chris Cook, allied to a firm defensive performance led to a 17-12 win. Given that things have belatedly seemed to click, it's hard to see too many changes from that side. Watson should remain at full back, with the in-form duo of Rokoduguni and Banahan, who has impressed of late with his creative play, occupying the wings, with Jonathan Joseph and Ollie Devoto in the centres. Ford will be at fly half accompanied by scrum half Cook. The front row has disappointed at times this season, and Sarries will hope to gain an advantage here. A possible trio here is Nathan Catt, Rob Webber and Henry Thomas, with Charlie Ewels and Dom Day forming the second row, and a back row of Matt Garvey, Francois Louw and Leroy Houston. 
 
From a Saracens perspective, this match should see the return of Chris Ashton, following the completion of his ban on Monday, and, seemingly, it being judged best to avoid fielding him in the Monday night Storm win against Harlequins. Whether he starts or begins on the bench is one of a number of selection conundrums facing Mark McCall, considering the pivotal European Quarter Final with Saints on the horizon. Whilst the thumping win over Exeter has provided more of a margin for error in the quest for the top two, the fact that a three way battle with Wasps for the top two has emerged means that there is still work to be done to secure a home semi-final. Hence, there might not be too many changes, as Sarries attempt to balance rest with continuity. A possible line up sees Ben Ransom coming in at full back, given Alex Goode's heavy workload in recent weeks, with Ashton slotting in on the right wing, and Chris Wyles continuing on the left, with Marcelo Bosch and Brad Barritt taking the central berths. Owen Farrell would remain at fly half with Neil de Kock starting at scrum half. A revised front row could feature Mako Vunipola, Schalk Brits and Juan Figallo, with Maro Itoje and George Kruis remaining in the second row, where they should have an impact against a lineout which was distinctly shaky at Kingsholm last week, and a back row of Kelly Brown, Will Fraser and Billy Vunipola, where an intriguing battle seems assured against their home counterparts. Saracens will need to be careful kicking to a backline which has regained its spark, but potentially have the edge in the scrum as they look to control the game. The return of Ashton could be crucial as the visitors look to capitalise on any stray passes from the home side's ambitious approach on the counter attack, but this match feels a far more difficult proposition than a few weeks ago.

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C.Ash Back
Discussion started by TheSaracens.com , 31/03/2016 07:06
TheSaracens.com
31/03/2016 07:06
Most knowledgeable again!



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 2016:04:12:21:06:14 by Darraghgirl.

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