Spotlight On - Bath Rugby

Second place, it is never one that sits well with professional athletes or teams and the disappointment that Bath Rugby felt when Wayne Barnes blew his final whistle on 30th May 2015 will fuel their every move this Aviva Premiership season. ‘Hungrier than ever’ were the words of Mike Ford at the recent competition launch however he, and his players, know that losing the final doesn’t guarantee them anything when it comes to the 2015/16 Aviva Premiership season. 

It has to be said that Bath Rugby played some of the most attractive and positive rugby of all last Aviva Premiership season and they coupled it with a powerful set of forwards. Bath have a backline that makes the rugby pulse beat a lot faster and up front the ballast and power to compliment it providing the platform required to flourish. 

Bath Rugby have kept their recruitment focused and on point, Niko Matawalu arrives from the Glasgow Warriors and is an individual that has the potential to take the Aviva Premiership by storm. Last season he was electric in the Pro12 and whenever he was on the field at the World Cup confused defences with his pace and vision. Rhys Priestland is another that will be critical given the intensity and unrelenting schedule of the forthcoming season. Without question George Ford is the heartbeat of Bath Rugby however having another International fly-half to take the reigns will be vital to maintaining consistency week in week out. 

Stuart Hooper will continue to lead the side and his leadership is rock solid however this year others will be developing their skills. The pre-season allowed the club to put more time into less experienced members of his squad and develop another leadership group that was required while their key internationals were away. As the season commences both leadership groups will continue and this should be of great benefit when rotations in personnel occur. 

“We can get better, we know that we are not the finished article and we know that we have not won anything yet.”

Those are the words of a focused and motivated Mike Ford, the profile of Bath’s squad is younger than many think and they will have learned much from their experiences last season. Bath Rugby have every reason to feel confident in their ability to play rugby however critically must have learned key lessons from their quarter-final exit in the Champions Cup and from that Aviva Premiership Final loss. Composure and not deviating from the Bath way will be key elements to nailing it in the knockout games. 

Like all of the Aviva Premiership sides that are part of the Champions Cup it will be intriguing to see if they are able to fight on both fronts for the schedule is  unrelenting and brutal. That said, domestically, all signs point to Bath Rugby having another very strong season and being well and truly in the mix come the end of May 2016.

Players In - Nikola Matawalu from Glasgow Warriors, Rhys Priestland from Scarlets, Jonathan Evans from Newport Gwent Dragons, Jeff Williams from England Sevens, Tom Dunn & Charlie Ewels Promoted from Academy 

Players Out - Paul James to Ospreys, Olly Woodburn to Exeter Chiefs, Micky Young to Newcastle David Sisi to London Irish (Season Loan), Will Skuse to London Welsh, Richard Lane to Jersey Peter Stringer to Sale Sharks, Carl Fearns to Lyon & Ben Williams (Retired)