Although we are only six rounds into the Aviva Premiership Saturday afternoon’s game between Bath Rugby and the Northampton Saints was one that neither side could afford to lose. Their respective starts to the year have left us wondering where the two sides are that spent so much time in the upper echelons of the table last year - the Saints had to use their first two European fixtures to find something resembling confidence and Bath still haven't found theirs.
Both sides were missing key individuals, the Saints travelled without Dylan Hartley, Courtney Lawes, Calum Clark and Alex Corbisiero. Bath were forced to field a very young second row, featuring academy member Tom Ellis and graduate Charlie Ewels, due to injuries to Dave Attwood and Stuart Hooper.
Both sides were missing key individuals, the Saints travelled without Dylan Hartley, Courtney Lawes, Calum Clark and Alex Corbisiero. Bath were forced to field a very young second row, featuring academy member Tom Ellis and graduate Charlie Ewels, due to injuries to Dave Attwood and Stuart Hooper.
After both front rows had taken others to school in previous matches the scrummage was an area that we had all been so intrigued to watch unfold and it ended being the decisive element of the fixture. Ethan Waller, Mike Haywood and Kieran Brookes again delivered a powerful performance with Brookes in particular excelling. During the Rugby World Cup camp Kieran worked incredibly hard on his fitness, the area Stuart Lancaster highlighted for improvement, and his new engine means he adds so much more around the part as well as at the set piece. Jim Mallinder rightly lauded the trio;
"We’ve got some very good, mainly young English lads, with couple of senior older players in there helping. But it is great just seeing them develop and improve and over the last few weeks they have been the dominant forwards in whatever game we have played so we are delighted."
For Bath Rugby the area was one of huge frustration and confusion regarding the decisions of young referee Craig Maxwell Keys. I don't confess to be a scrum aficionado however there were couple of choices that perplexed me. Needless to say on another day with another official, some of the outcomes would have gone Bath's way. The question is would that have changed the match? You argue that it would and the whole area infuriated their Director of Rugby Mike Ford;
"It is just a lottery, we do what we do against Leinster, we go to Leicester and it is 50/50 and today, flip a coin. We’ve got referees refereeing scrums and they don’t know what’s going on and it is ruining the game."
As mentioned though you cannot take away from the work of Saints' pack, they played to the referee and won, the third fixture in a row, for their side. The focus on the set piece was large for in attack the Northampton Saints didn't fully launch themselves on Bath. In the role of captain Ben Foden make a couple of superb breaks and JJ Hanrahan worked tirelessly at fly half however the side that have title aspirations must launch more going forwards. Jim Mallinder's squad have the ability and the personnel with George North and the Pisi brothers in particular however they need to add a touch more variation and flair to their attacking platforms.
Aside from the scrummage decisions the area that will frustrate Bath Rugby’s management the most is their imprecision. They have the flair, and they have the pace, to make defences look silly however they are stuttering. George Ford didn’t have his finest day at the office however it was more than just his individual errors. As a collective Bath’s radar is off, what was so fluid and natural last season, now feels edgy and nervy and the Aviva Premiership is an unforgiving competition.
While the Ricoh enjoyed 68 points the 24 seen at the Rec weren’t vintage ones however in a test match with so much hanging in the balance the victors won't mind one jot. Jim Mallinder's Saints will now allow themselves to think of Racing 92 and a certain Dan Carter while Bath find themselves in a unfamiliar, and unwanted, domestic position and have a monumental double header against Wasps on the horizon.
