With the new Aviva Premiership season now just over a week away, former Rec favourite David Flatman caught up with fellow ex-Bath stars Lee Mears, Duncan Bell and Dan Hipkiss to chat about how Mike Ford’s men might fare in 2014-15.
David Flatman: Last season Bath went agonisingly close to a place in the Premiership’s top four. What sort of progress do you think they made over the course of the season and what are the key areas you’d work on?
Lee Mears: They made huge progress. To bring that many players in and trying to gel as a team with a group of youngsters, the transition they went through was amazing. The pack performed well last year so I’d imagine they’d want to get the back-line going as well. And if Plan A isn’t working what’s Plan B as they lost a few games last year by narrow margins.
DF: If you look at the top teams in the Premiership, what does it take to get there and stay there year after year?
Dan Hipkiss: The biggest thing is putting in effort every day at training. Mike Ford has really forced that on the players with that “every time†slogan. It really is as simple as that. It was drilled into us at Leicester and you can see Fordy has that mentality too.
DF: Round one is Sale Sharks and for once it’s not on a Friday night. Do you think that might affect their status as a bogey team?
Duncan Bell: I think it will. You talk to a lot of players across the Premiership and going away to Sale on a Friday night was always a fixture you did not like. You’ve got to get a long journey out of your legs and then it invariably hammers it down with rain. A lot of teams won’t be as daunted and it’ll be easier for the boys to get their heads around. But Steve Diamond has done a pretty good job there; they had an exceptional year last year and will be a force in their own right.
LM: They were one of the surprise teams for me last year, I was really impressed with them. I think they’ll be there or thereabouts this year so it makes it a tough first fixture.
DF: Then the first home game is against London Welsh. What’s it like playing against a side who everyone says are going to be the whipping boys of the Premiership?
DH: We had a similar scenario at Leicester when Exeter first came up and they were pretty much an unknown quantity. Leicester at Welford Road was probably the biggest game of the year for them and they performed unbelievably. The emphasis is all on Bath and if they don’t come away with five points they’ll probably be a bit disappointed but it is a potential banana skin.
DF: Bath haven’t made a lot of signings but for a club with a lot of ambition and good finances in place, that says good things doesn’t it?
LM: It shows there’s a settled squad there. If you lose a player like Nick Abendanon you have to recruit for that position but generally it shows they’re happy with the squad. Hopefully that harmony will show on a Saturday.
DB: It’s a big pat on the back for the rest of the squad.
DH: What Bath have done really well is recruit in positions that are really important to the success of the team. At tighthead they’ve now got Davey Wilson and Henry Thomas. The one position I think they’d struggle with is at ten if George Ford got injured.
DF: Ollie Devoto and Gavin Henson seem the natural choices to slot in there – but what about Kyle Eastmond?
DH: It’s tough to put somebody in that’s not played enough there. I think he’s played one game which was in Europe away to Bucharest Wolves, it’s not enough exposure. Ollie Devoto has played a lot throughout his career at ten and has got the skill set to do it but he needs that exposure at a higher level. The difficult thing for Mike Ford is, he’s got all the strength in depth but he has got to give enough game time to keep all of them happy.
DF: How do you weigh up that balance of having to win the game but needing the guys to be good enough should you want to rest seven or eight first-teamers?
DB: It’s something for Fordy and Toby Booth to look at. You can’t have an over reliance on certain individuals and no player is going to play every single game. Of course you always want to play your best team but you need to rotate. You need to have confidence in the squad, there’s no point having certain players if you aren’t going to use them.
LM: The thing this year is there won’t be any lower league European rugby. It’s straight in at the deep end. Which players do you play for which game and what style do you play? It’s going to be really interesting to see if they pick one style of chop and change between a few.
DF: It’s purely speculation as no one really knows but is Sam Burgess going to be any good at rugby union?
DH: You try to look at the people who have done it before but the difficult thing is there is no one really to compare him with. Most of the players who have come across and done well – like Kyle, Jason Robinson and Chris Ashton – tend to be back-three players. I don’t think it’s worth playing him in the back-row, I don’t get excited by that, whereas if he was at 12 or 13 you wouldn’t enjoy your day playing against him. He has all the attributes you want as a centre – he can offload, he’s reasonably quick and he’s got very good footwork for a big guy. And defensively there aren’t many bigger hitters.
DF: How important is it for a club like Bath to be back at the top table of Europe, playing the big teams like Toulouse?
LM: It’s massive, it’s what everybody wants. Rugby is a bit of a heartbeat for the city and everyone looks forward to the massive match-ups. You’ve got Gloucester and Leicester but when you throw the big European games in there as well it makes the season even better.
DF: Stuart Hooper is heading into his fourth season as captain. Why do you think he’s been named again this year?
DB: It’s no surprise. Everybody looks up to him and he’s a natural leader. He’s an inspirational guy and never seems to make the wrong decision. He knows what to do at the right time and never seems to get fazed.
LM: I was lucky enough to play under some great captains over the years. He is right up there and it’s because he is so selfless. You always knew with Hoops that the team came first. ; he’s never afraid to ask the tough questions and with the management he’s got the boys’ backs at all times. That’s what makes a great captain.
DF: If there’s one player who is going to be the backbone to seeing Bath break into the top four, who is it?
DB: Kyle Eastmond. We’ve seen glimpses of how good he can be and he’s just breaking into the England squad. I think he could be one of the world’s best players – he just needs to have a little bit more confidence.
LM: Leroy Houston had a fantastic year last year and I think there’s more to come. I love the way he plays the game and he’s something a little bit different.
DH: George Ford has shown all the ability with some of the tries he scored and his kicking has been good but he needs to nail them in the big games. If they keep him fit, keep playing well and keep him kicking well, he is the one who is going to be the determining factor.
Article source: http://www.thedrum.com/news/2013/08/05/infographic-england-s-cricketers-british-rugby-players-and-global-tennis-players-see
"Settled Bath Rugby squad can rise to the challenge" say legends David Flatman ...
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