By Ed Scott
October 7 2011

This weekend is round six of the Aviva Premiership and the last of our league games for a couple of weeks. Our match is an away trip to Adams Park to take on Wasps. Never an easy place to go and win, it's a match up of two sides whose form could definitely be described as inconsistent so far this season.

As usual it's impossible for me to look forward without reflecting on our performance last week. We all had our hearts in our mouths as it seemed likely that the final kick of the game would condemn us to another last minute defeat. For the first time in 80 minutes, the metronomic Jeremy Staunton missed his kick and we all breathed a sigh of relief.

Much of the talk has been based around the fact that we can't close out games, however I felt that it was more our inability to penetrate and turn pressure into points that really caused us to be in that situation in the first place. We dominated the opening exchanges but suddenly found ourselves 13-3 down when Leicester had barely played any rugby. Watching the match back, the stats showed that Leicester didn't once enter our 22 in the second half! And yet the game still came down to a nail biting final kick.

Although there are obvious problems in the scrum at times, the forwards provided plenty of ball. The problem is that it is not quick ball. This has a knock on effect to the backline, where only moments of individual brilliance, rather than building pressure or well worked moves, seem to create line breaks. Our off-loading game seems to be disappearing and sadly I feel we are missing key personnel that are capable of giving us the spark we need.

The good news is that the cavalry are not far off. Olly Barkley is only a couple of weeks away from being back and some of our World Cup stars will not be far away. I cannot help but want South Africa to lose on the weekend, purely because I think that François Louw will bring so much to the breakdown that we have been missing. Sometimes I find it difficult not to think that once all our new players are settled in, perhaps next year will be the one for us.

On Sunday however, we can't begin to think about who we might have playing, but look what we've got. We still have a team capable of beating Wasps, but they are (at times) a changed team under Dai Young. Their set piece and forward play has improved, and in Christian Wade, they surely have a star of the future who has gas to burn. If we give their back three any space we are likely to regret it.

Last season we talked about the need to be pragmatic and sensible with our play, but I think this weekend we need to start to take a few risks. We need players running on each others shoulders, popping passes out of the tackle and put the Wasps defence on the back foot. The front row has to stay on the right side of the referee and we must be more destructive at ruck time; both on opposition and our own ball. Aggressive and quick clear outs will be essential, especially with Jonathan Poff proving that he is a class signing for Wasps at seven.

We are likely to also be faced with Bath old boy Ryan Davis at fly-half, who seems to have back his confidence since leaving us. He will have a point to prove (as many ex-players often do) but I think that if we can get into his face, he could struggle.

Wasps come in off the back of three straight disappointing defeats, most recently to the previously winless Newcastle. They have also been dealt with the news this week that their owner, Steve Hayes, has announced he wishes to sell the club. I'm not sure whether this would have any effect on the players, but I can't see it helping.

Playing any team away in the Premiership is a difficult task. We need to cut out the penalties, look to play expansively, and put Wasps under pressure. With neither team so far showing great form, it may be time to open up and lay down our marker - Bath are contenders.....

Match Preview: Contenders ready?

Discussion started by BathRugbyEre.co.uk , 07/10/2011 13:32

BathRugbyEre.co.uk
07/10/2011 13:32

What do you think? You can have your say by posting below.
If you do not already have an account Click here to Register.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2011:10:10:10:02:55 by Susanne.

Reply Quote Report

abendanon-anon-anon
07/10/2011 15:54

THanks Ed, your report brings out the missing element of our game - the inability to convert pressure into points.
I think there is a lack of confidence in the backs for some reason. Maybe if we can get a few back to back wins that will come. Agree with you about Poff - a good signing.

Reply Quote Report

StuartMMoss
09/10/2011 11:33

It has been 'tweeted'to me by Rob Humpherson that the match is on ESPN, but looking on their (and Sky's) website, I can see no mention of it. Does anyone else know if it is on TV? I am off out to lunch so need to be able to record it if possible! :-)

Cheers all!

Sam Underhill - Adopted Player 2023-24
Johannes Jonker - Adopted Player 2022-23
Sam Underhill - Adopted Player 2021-22
Juan Schoeman - Adopted Player 2020-21
Max Green - Adopted Player 2019-20
Francois Louw - Adopted Player 2018-19
Luke Charteris - Adopted player 2017-18

Reply Quote Report

Susanne
09/10/2011 12:08

The Aviva site shows what is on TV and only shows Irish Wuss being televised by Sky. And there is no sign of it on the ESPN Schedule

Reply Quote Report

Goto: Forum List•Message List•Search• Log In

Sorry, you do not have permission to post/reply in this forum.

We record all IP addresses on the Sportnetwork message boards which may be required by the authorities in case of defamatory or abusive comment. We seek to monitor the Message Boards at regular intervals. We do not associate Sportnetwork with any of the comments and do not take responsibility for any statements or opinions expressed on the Message Boards. If you have any cause for concern over any material posted here please let us know as soon as possible by e-mailing abuse@sportnetwork.net