This year the Amlin Challenge Cup has delivered us with some outstanding rugby however I am convinced that the best is yet to come as on Friday Night, on the artificial surface, at Cardiff Arms Park Bath Rugby and Northampton Saints will go head to head in pursuit of the title.
The Saints and Bath have had differing journeys since their respective Amlin Challenge Cup Semi Finals; Northampton have been extremely busy, they put their bodies on the line and played a brutal 80 minutes of rugby against their fiercest rivals whilst Bath enjoyed some solid training time tucked away at Farleigh House after they had their hearts broken against Harlequins in Round 22. The question is which side's journey will have benefitted them most? Will Bath arrive at The Arms Park a little rusty? Or will they be bursting at the seams to get onto the pitch and arrive with a bang? Will Saints be tired or will the scent of a trophy mean that they pick up where they left off at Franklin’s Gardens on Friday night, in spite of any bumps and bruises? Soon we will find out...
Bath have an impeccable record in the Amlin Challenge Cup Competition, they haven’t lost to an English Club since their 2003 Final against London Wasps and with Carl Fearns' defensive record you can understand why. Carl has made more tackles than any other player in the competition, 72 to be precise, and in that time he has only missed 2, simply phenomenal. He is part of a solid back row that has come into their own this year and one that Bath will need to rely heavily on, on Friday night. The big boost is the fact that Francois Louw returns for this fixture and his experience and go forward at 7 is invaluable. In the Amlin the men in black, blue and white have scored tries for fun and with the talent and speed housed in the back line you can see why. The Saints will target a quick defensive line seed to nullify Bath's runners however given their 'rest period' I'm expecting to see a few new calls from Mike Ford's men that could fox Saints.
The Northampton Saints,
what can I possibly say about Jim Mallinder's men that hasn’t already been said
in the aftermath of that gargantuan win over the Leicester Tigers? They have
been tumultuous this year, in spite of injuries to some of their key men,
including Corbisiero, Foden and Hartley they have consistently delivered week
in, week out. Saints are driven forward by a menacing pack of their own and the
set piece battle will be a tasty one to watch during this match. Jim Mallinder
has announced a full strength squad for the game in spite of saying previously
they he may shake things up for the fixture… clearly the lure of a trophy is
too strong. As expected Dickson starts at 9 over Kahn Fotuali'I after he made
such an impact during their Premiership Final and Alex Corbisiero makes his
first start in an extremely long time following his knee surgery.
Both sides haven't won this competition for a number of years, the last time the Saints finished on top was back in 2009 and Bath were victorious the year before. Cup Final matches are always emotional and electric and this one will not be an exception to the rule... the game will be played at a blistering pace and will be fiercely competitive in all areas. Underneath the Friday Night Lights two sides will do battle, both are desperate to finish the game victorious in order to show the rugby world that they can cut it when it really matters.
