The Bath Rugby Thread

[HERSH]

First topic message reminder :

The dedicated home of all things Bath Rugby,

Please feel free to discuss all things Bath related, so pull up a chair an have a quite drink among friends, mines a Bath Ales Dark Side please.

Other fans welcome but remember, play nicely.

[nathan]

All other teams have had their fans effect a zombie like chant

Tigers is difficult to chant as it has to be done out of tune.

[Scrumpy]

Great start from Stringer.

Shows what we have been missing, a top quality player.

[sirtidychris]

Kudos to stringer indeed, what a debut!! Michael who?? Still even if the old dog does stay with bath for a season we still need a youngish international quality 9, for the long run.

[Bathman_in_London]

Why can't our other scrummies just whip the ball out like he does?! Hopefully he can teach Cook a few things while he is here.

[Scrumpy]

Bathman I fear they don't whip it out as they are coached not to risk it.

Its much more sporting to allow the defence some time to regroup for the next attack.

[Bathman_in_London]

Indeed, much better to just hoof it to the opposition fullback so we can practice our defensive patterns for 80 minutes.

[Scrumpy]

Can Bath tear Glawster a new one this weekend?

[PJHolybloke]

Yep, they can.

The big boys are playing and there's bags of experience in the team, I expect normal service to be resumed in the West Country.

15 Nick Abendanon

14 Horacio Agulla

13 Matt Banahan

12 Sam Vesty

11 Olly Woodburn

10 Stephen Donald

9 Peter Stringer

1 Charlie Beech

2 Rob Webber

3 Anthony Perenise

4 Dave Attwood

5 Dominic Day

6 Francois Louw

7 Carl Fearns

8 Ben Skirving

Replacements

16 Ross Batty

17 Nathan Catt

18 Kane Palma-Newport

19 Will Spencer

20 Mat Gilbert

21 Chris Cook

22 Semesa Rokoduguni

23 Jack Cuthbert


Bath by 9.

[Scrumpy]

Thats what I like to hear.

[HongKongCherry]

Yep, they can.

The big boys are playing and there's bags of experience in the team, I expect normal service to be resumed in the West Country.

So that's a win for Glaws then? 91% of the time we beat you


Safe journey as always. Enjoy the day and feel free to stay and watch the England match afterwards, just don't be too downhearted.

[Bathite]

Donald / Vesty 10/12 is an awful combination, zero form, zero pace, average kicking game

[Bathite]

Haven't seen the Glos team, but guess they will be up against someone like Robson, Mills, Billy Burns, all young talented rapid players

[Bathite]

Fearns and Webber back are both big plusses though, as is the chance for Woodburn

[HongKongCherry]

Haven't seen the Glos team, but guess they will be up against someone like Robson, Mills, Billy Burns, all young talented rapid players

Here's the team. It's about as strong as we can put out at the moment:

Rob Cook; Charlie Sharples, Mike Tindall (capt), Tim Molenaar, Shane Monahan; Ryan Mills, Jimmy Cowan; Dan Murphy, Huia Edmonds, Rupert Harden; Tom Savage, Lua Lokotui; Peter Buxton, Andy Hazell, Sione Kalamafoni

Replacements:

Darren Dawidiuk, Yann Thomas, Tom Heard, Akapusi Qera, Gareth Evans, Dan Robson, Billy Burns, Martyn Thomas

[Bathite]

Molenaar and Tindall
vs
Vesty and Banahan

Wow, 4 pacey centres there! All of them full of handling and distrubution skills....zzzzz

[HongKongCherry]

Ah, but Ryan Mills is very adept at the miss pass

[Bathite]

Miss 2!

[ScarletSpiderman]

Can I ask how Matt Gilbert and Dom Day have been getting on for Bath?

[Peter Seabiscuit Wheeler]

Hey Bathite no-one disrespects Sam Vesty on this board! Hes the best 4th choice fullback Tigers ever had! (well until the season after he left))

As for pace I remeber Cockerill saying something along the lines of "People describe him as having deceptive pace, that is to say he doesnt have any"

Still a hero no matter who he plays for.

[HongKongCherry]

Hey Bathite no-one disrespects Sam Vesty on this board! Hes the best 4th choice fullback Tigers ever had! (well until the season after he left))

As for pace I remeber Cockerill saying something along the lines of "People describe him as having deceptive pace, that is to say he doesnt have any"

Still a hero no matter who he plays for.

I'm not sure Newcastle fans would feel that way!

[Peter Seabiscuit Wheeler]

Hey Bathite no-one disrespects Sam Vesty on this board! Hes the best 4th choice fullback Tigers ever had! (well until the season after he left))

As for pace I remeber Cockerill saying something along the lines of "People describe him as having deceptive pace, that is to say he doesnt have any"

Still a hero no matter who he plays for.

I'm not sure Newcastle fans would feel that way!

Hes no Twelvetrees of Ford

[Bathite]

Hey Bathite no-one disrespects Sam Vesty on this board! Hes the best 4th choice fullback Tigers ever had! (well until the season after he left))

As for pace I remeber Cockerill saying something along the lines of "People describe him as having deceptive pace, that is to say he doesnt have any"

Still a hero no matter who he plays for.

He's utter turd. Tidy cricket player though

[Bathite]

Can I ask how Matt Gilbert and Dom Day have been getting on for Bath?

Day has been awesome, probably first choice lock for us in a competitive area. Last year Attwood was probably meant to be top dog, alongside club captain Stuart Hooper, but Ryan Caldwell came in from Ulster with a terrible reputation and had a blinder, nearly getting player of the season. This season, Day has had a similar effect, pushing both Caldwell and Attwood to the bench. The problem is that Hooper is captain, but arguably our 4th best lock!

[PJHolybloke]

How d'ya like them apples Glaws?

Ladies and gentlemen, normal service has been resumed.

[HongKongCherry]

HERSH, if you're out there I doth my cap to thee. Bath were by far the better side.

[Bathite]

HERSH, if you're out there I doth my cap to thee. Bath were by far the better side.

Someone needs to frame this!!

[HongKongCherry]

Bathite, I can be gracious in defeat... especially as it happens so rarely against you

We just didn't look up for it today and neither did the crowd. I'm hoping this was due to the game being a dead rubber for us, otherwise we've got a few issues to sort out.

On a separate note, the ref today was as bad as I've ever seen at this level. He was like a rabbit in headlights and was woefully inconsistent. This affected both sides but also stopped the flow of the game.

[PJHolybloke]

In Glawster, Newton's First Law is taught as an abhorrence. FACT.

[Bathman_in_London]

It may be monday, but the sun is shining, England won and Bath choose the game against Glaws to finally play some decent rugby... good times!

I hope we try and play in the same manner for the rest of the season, I would like GG to really tr and push for some silverwear and the LV cup would do nicely.

[PJHolybloke]

A long overdue performance for sure and its good to see the emphasis on putting pride back into the BB&W is high on the agenda, for things to click into place for that particular fixture does put a bit of a spring in your step doesn't it?

BUT, that level of performance must be carried through the next two games as nothing less than maximum points should be considered acceptable. Both are home games against teams that don't travel too well and with Glaws and the Chiefs having two tricky away games to tackle during the same period, Bath could make up some serious ground.

When you look at Bath's last three fixtures of the season, Quins away, Tiggers at home and Saffercens away big points will need to be in the bank by the end of March if there's to be any realistic chance of a top six finish.

'Mon Barf!!!!

[Bathman_in_London]

The spring is in my step today PJ!

Agree though, this level of performance needs to be carried forward, with Biggs, Eastmond and Heathcote returning after 'A' duty too the squad should be looking strong. Despite our average league position, the middle of the table is very tight so a couple of wins could see us climb up a few notches.

We will hope that the big 3 are already in the playoffs and so wont want to risk their players come the last few games...

[PJHolybloke]

Well, having beaten Quins already at home and the LV semi to come at their place, we should know what needs to be done to get something out of that game, Tiggers at home could be winnable if the squad.is relatively injury free. Which leaves Sarries away on the final day, hmmm, it would be nice to go into that game not needing anything, but I just can't see that being the case.

Putting Glaws to the sword again is an absolute must on March 1st.

Enjoy the early spring bud.

[DaveM]

What has happened to Bath? Suddenly playing expansive rugby, and moving Eastmond to 12? This is all very positive. Eastmond is an amazing talent, and he needs to play in a position where all his gifts can be utilised. I think 12 is the future for him, particular alongside a 10 and 13 with a bit of physical presence.

[PJHolybloke]

Eastmond looks every inch the 12 with ball in hand Dave, to be fair to the man, he's no walkover in defense either, if there's one thing you can say for League players, they can feckin tackle.

I'd love to see him play there regularly in between Heathcote and Banahan/Hipkiss, and I really think between the three of them they can get Bath really moving.

As for what's happened to Bath? Peter feckin Stringer mate, he's so smooth he makes Donald look good. Great flat pass off either hand, sniping round the fringes, he reminds me of an exuberent Labrador, one whiff of fresh air and he's feckin off. Quality.

[DaveM]

I'm sure he can tackle, and he's pretty muscular, but he is still smaller than many current 12s. I wonder if he and Ford might be seen as too small to play together? Still, in general I think he can cope, and by the next AIs I think England will have another credible 12 option.

It certainly sounds like Stringer has made a big impact, but there also seems to have been a change in attitude from Gold.

What's the latest on the stadium? Things seem to be moving very slowly.

[yappysnap]

Louw can't be under valued either, the man is a tackling machine.

[PJHolybloke]

A Ford/Eastmond axis isn't really viable without an incredibly athletic back row which Bath don't have. I can't see Ford coming in as a replacement for Heathcote immediately, as Heathcote is, at the moment, a little in front in terms of development and will hopefully replace Donald as first choice if Bath can get rid of the chump at the end of the season.

With a bit of luck one of the French clubs will be duped into paying his wages, or failing that Donald will admit the game is up and feck off to Japan for a pension.

Louw is a massive influence on the forward platform Yappy, but he has been since he arrived, the impetus over the last three games has been sublimely applied by Stringer though, he could be the shortest contract legend Bath have ever had, he already looks and plays like he's been at the club for years, a fantastic bit of business.

GG hasn't necessarily made a U-turn on his gameplan, it may just be that he developed a strategy early on to suit the players he had at his disposal, he does like to play to percentages though.

The ground development is still in the lap of the gods at the minute, The Charity Comission has taken notice of the views of fans and other Bath residents, and will publish it's findings shortly. I can't help thinking it will be a compromise offering though, and Bruce Craig wont accept it, will lose patience and develop a ground outside of the city centre.

The biggest losers will, of course, be the local businesses that thrive on the home games, good luck with that.

C'est la vie.

[DaveM]

I think a high quality stadium in the heart of Bath would be great for English rugby, so I hope it can be done. Then if Wasps can actually get themselves a stadium in London the ground situation of AP sides will be pretty good.

[PJHolybloke]

That would be the ideal outcome Dave, but I'm not confident about the Bath end of the deal, as the residents opposed to the development of The Rec never tire of telling us, "It's slap bang in the middle of a World Heritage Site."

Yeah, well so's the colosseum.

[DaveM]

Doesn't mean the city has to fossilise.

[PJHolybloke]

Precisely, I like you Dave.

Common sense dictates the city can move forward without losing touch with the past, it's shown that recently by the massive development of a 21st century shopping centre in the south of the city complete with car parking and bus/rail connections.

BUT! Rugby is just a game and doesn't have the same sense of valdity as a shopping centre, obviously, so you can't draw comparisons.

Shopping centres have been around since the 60's and Bath have only been playing rugby at The Rec since the 80's, they might as well be centuries apart...

[Bathman_in_London]

So... Eastmond!

After a prety boring season, at last we might be seeing what our exciting (on paper at least) backs can do. Stringer has clearly got a point to prove that he has still got it, lets loan him for next season too!

Up front Attwood has been playing well too, if he keeps it up then surely he would be on the summer tour?

On the stadium, sadly at some point Bruce will lose patience and we will have a standard boring stadium on the edge of town.

[LondonTiger]

Best wishes to Lee Mears in his retirement

[Bathite]

Wow, didn't see that one coming? Such a nice bloke and quality player. It's lucky we've got Webber

[bluestonevedder]

All the best to Mears for the future. Hope it's not too serious...

[Scrumpy]

Shocked at this news, but his a lucky boy to find out this problem now rather than later when it might be too late.

Rugby is only a game after all and not worth risking your life for.

All the best for the future Mearsy.

[HongKongCherry]

I can't imagine there will be many other Bath players who have a testimonial at Kingsholm! A great player and even I had to applaud the grubber he put through to Biggs last year against Glaws.

I hope he stays in the game; I'd love him to coach budding hookers as he was one of the few that knew how to throw the ball in and do it well.

Full credit to Bath and the RFU/PRL for having these checks in the first place.

[PJHolybloke]

Sad day for Bath, but at least he can go on and live life to the full, it could have been much worse.

A true Bath legend who will be badly missed, I hope they can find room for him in a coaching role.

[Bathman_in_London]

Thank goodness it was caught now rather than further down the road.

I hope he will be kept on in some capacity, a real 1club man. He never seemed to get the recognition he deserved outside of Bath but he was a really good dynamic player.

First job for retirement could be passing on throwing tips to youngs before the next England game?

[sirtidychris]

What a shock, hopefully wont have big implications on his health outside of sport, if there are any positives its that he is 33 so was in the twilight years anyway.....Piglet has been a bath hero for years and after spending his early days on the bench behind andy long, mark regan and john humphries really made the shirt his own over the last 5 years. The 2009 season was his best for me when him Stephens, Claas, Butch and Watson were in thier pomp and playing some beautfiul pacy, offloading rugby culminating in his lions cap.

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