Actually, given the relatively short amount of time they had to prepare England for this World Cup (Wales, Australia, Argentina and Fiji are in pretty similar dinghies, it’s worth noting), it was probably the sensible, even logical approach to take. It’s absolutely no surprise to see the Leicester Tigers-heavy coaching team decide to play in a similar fashion to that which won them a Premiership title. I see something similar happening with England.
GETTY IMAGE WOMAN RELAX FEET FREE
David Flatman in action for Bath, a side known for playing free flowing rugby (Photo by David Rogers/Getty Images) They didn’t win it (Saracens did, of course), but goodness me it was tangible, satisfying progress.
Once Mike Ford took over and encouraged said players to rip defences apart and do it with a smile on their faces, Bath flew to a Premiership Final. They had Nick Abendanon, still, to my mind, a largely unappreciated genius, and he was shackled by a data-led plan that didn’t allow him – or his mates, who’d all been signed for their attacking prowess – to do what they did best, namely tear it up in unstructured play. The theory behind this description was that Bath were trying to play the low-risk, high-pressure game that Saracens were close to perfecting, and which involved a lot of kicking but very little actual rugby played within 50 yards of their own try-line.Įxcept Bath didn’t have the players. One journalist soon described Bath as ‘Sarries-lite’ which, I can tell you, infuriated the Bath management. A fresh and experienced coaching team had been brought in, but the plan appeared to be rather narrow itself.
Less than the sum of its parts, if you like. As I looked on from the stands that season, something became entirely apparent: this was a side nowhere near making the most of the talent they had in that squad.
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