Preview: Bath v Dragons
Dragons coach Paul Turner has named the same side for the second week running, as his troops head across the Severn Bridge to take on Bath at The Rec on Sunday.
Dragons coach Paul Turner has named the same side for the second week running, as his troops head across the Severn Bridge to take on Bath at The Rec on Sunday.
Following on from an impressive win over Glasgow last time out, Turner is sticking with a winning combination.
“I was pleased with the performance of the team in the Heineken Cup game against Glasgow Warriors which proved a real vote of confidence ahead of this weekend's encounter with Bath,” Turner said.
“The players have trained well all week and are aware that we need to have an edge about us going into the tough challenge on Sunday.
“Bath is a difficult place to go but having won there as both a player and a coach I am confident that they are not an unbeatable side as Gloucester and Leicester have proved already this season.”
Having thrown body and soul into the display against Toulouse, Bath's forwards coach, Mike Bakewell, is expecting the Dragons to come to The Rec with the same attitude.
“We went with an attitude to Toulouse whereby we were going to throw everything at them, we had nothing to lose and we believed we could win and I think the Dragons will come with the same attitude,” he said.
“They will come here with a positive mindset and try and put us off our game in an attempt to play their own game. It will be different in the sense that they have different structures to the way they do things – in some areas simpler systems and in other areas more complex, but they will try and apply the way they play. We have to be ready for that.”
Form: Bath lost with the very last kick of the game last week, falling 18-16 to Toulouse, but will hope they can get a win this time out. They will need to overcome a Dragons side fresh from victory over Glasgow.
Prediction: In days gone by you would have backed Bath for a big win, but the Dragons are on the up and will be a formidable challenge. However, with home advantage and a stronger side, at least on paper, Bath should edge this one. Bath by six points.
The Teams:
Bath: 15 Nick Abendanon, 14 Joe Maddock, 13 Alex Crockett, 12 Shaun Berne, 11 Matt Banahan, 10 Butch James, 9 Michael Claassens, 8 Jonny Faamatuainu, 7 Michael Lipman, 6 Stuart Hooper, 5 Peter Short, 4 Justin Harrison, 3 Matt Stevens, 2 Lee Mears, 1 David Flatman.
Replacements: 16 Pieter Dixon, 17 Duncan Bell, 18 David Barnes, 19 James Scaysbrook, 20 Scott Bemand, 21 Shontayne Hape, 22 Andrew Higgins.
Dragons: 15 Phil Dollman, 14 Gareth Wyatt, 13 Rory Sidey, 12 Marc Stcherbina, 11 Richard Fussell, 10 James Arlidge, 9 Wayne Evans, 8 Lewis Evans, 7 Colin Charvis, 6 Joe Bearman, 5 Luke Charteris, 4 Adam Jones, 3 Rhys Thomas, 2 Tom Willis (c), 1 Adam Black.
Replacements: 16 Steve Jones, 17 Aaron Coundley, 18 Grant Webb, 19 Andrew Hall, 20 Rob Lewis, 21 Shaun Connor, 22 Ashley Smith.
Date: Sunday 19 October, 2008
Kick-off: 13:00 BST (12:00 GMT)
Venue: The Rec
Referee: Carlo Damasco (Italy)
Touch judges: Giulio De Santis (Italy), Stefano Marrama (Italy)
Television match official: Mauro Dordolo (Italy)