By Glen Leat
April 22 2004

Bath go off to Montferrand for the second leg of the PPC semi-final carrying a 14 point lead which they hope will be enough to take them in to the Final at Reading for the second time in two seasons. After last week's disappointing display at Northampton the Bath backs will have something to prove.

Danny Grewcock has returned to the starting line up which, although harsh on Rob Fidler was inevitable: let's face it, Danny is one of the best locks in the world so however well Fids is playing he will always be number three in the pecking order. David Flatman is out for a few weeks with a leg injury and James Scaysbrook will be straining at the leash in anticipation of Michael Lipman being unavailable.

In the backs Olly Barkley has had his rest and starts in place of Chris Malone and Simon Danielli has returned from a lengthy lay-off to replace the out of position winger, Alex Crockett. Barkley will certainly hope his hands are a bit stickier this week than when he came on in the dying minutes at Franklin's Gardens.

Mike Catt is still on/off for his bench position and given the fact he was not played last week, when we could have done with a bit of Catt magic there has to be a question over his fitness. It doesn't help things of course that his contractual situation has not been clarified and this just leads a variety of people to read their own views in to this situation. The mood music would appear to be swinging(sic) towards Catt leaving Bath but the simple answer is that no one outside the club really knows and it will be better for everyone to put this issue to one side and concentrate on the rugby!

When explaining the current position for Bath John Connolly said ‘We’ve got a couple of guys injured or awaiting late tests, but that gives some of the other guys the opportunities they’ve patiently been waiting for all season. David Barnes has played very well for us when he’s had the chance and Flat’s misfortune is Barnesy’s big chance. Similarly James Scaysbrook is a player we rate very highly, so if Michael Lipman misses out James can lay down a marker at this crucial stage of the season. I believe Montferrand’s defeat last weekend means that they miss out on Heineken Cup qualification domestically, but this great Parker Pen competition is their lifeline in that respect and going over there is a tough prospect. The defeat two weeks ago will be fresh in their minds too and they won’t need much motivation, but we’ll just be looking to go over there and play our own game. If we play as we can do then we have a good chance of making the final. I think Bath will play much better than last week and will win this game with something to spare.

Click here to see the most recent Montferrand results.

Bath Team

Matt Perry; Wylie Human, Robbie Fleck, Kevin Maggs, Simon Danielli; Olly Barkley, Martyn Wood; David Barnes, Jonathan Humphreys, Duncan Bell; Steve Borthwick, Danny Grewcock (c); Andy Beattie, Michael Lipman/James Scaysbrook, Zak Feaunati

Subs: Ross Blake, Lee Mears, Matt Stevens, Mike Catt/Alex Crockett, Chris Malone, James Scaysbrook/Scott Gray, Rob Fidler

Possible Montferrand Team

Stéphane Delpuech, Brent Moyle, Richard Cockerill, Fabrice Brandon, David Attoub, Hottie Louw, Ed Pearce, Philippe Martin, Alexandre Audebert, Michel Dieudé, Olivier Magne, Elvis Vermeulen, Marc Raynaud, Pierre Mignoni, Jérôme Moreau, Gérald Merceron, Jérôme Gendre, David Bory, Tony Marsh, Franck Comba, Aurélien Rougerie, Anthony Floch, Pat Howard, Sébastien Kuzbik

If you can read French why not click here to see the Montferrand web site.

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