Bath’s 150th anniversary season has been thin on reasons to celebrate. The optimism created by a run to the Premiership final and the knockout stages of the European Champions Cup last season – and the swagger with which they did it – has been washed away.
The harder Bath have tried to find their groove the more they have struggled, and a failure to qualify for next season’s Champions Cup after their chairman, Bruce Craig, was so influential in its creation, would be an irony lost on few. However, just when a top-six finish was disappearing out of view, when of more concern was the relegation fight going on over their shoulders, things are beginning to look up.
Saturday’s triumph at Gloucester – thanks to Semesa Rokoduguni’s razor-sharp finishing and a rearguard led by the indomitable Springbok Francois Louw – was a third win in four matches. Despite welcoming their grand slam winners back at Kingsholm, Bath’s attacking brio has still not returned and while George Ford’s perseverance was admirable, his box of tricks still seemed to be empty. Louw, however, after an inevitable post-World Cup dip, appears back to his very best.
And with sixth place effectively within touching distance should they win their game in hand, a campaign that began with Sam Burgess’s disruptive desertion may yet be salvaged.
“It’s a monumental year, we want to finish as high as possible,” said the scrum-half Chris Cook, scorer of their first try. “European rugby is a big thing for this squad, we’ve got far too good a squad not to be in it, so it’s not a question of getting the season out of the way, it’s about finishing as high as possible and getting into Europe.”
It is something of a paradox that Bath’s England starters have struggled for domestic form while those on the periphery have provided the glimpses of light. Last season Anthony Watson, Jonathan Joseph and Ford scored 15 Premiership tries between them – this term they have one. Rokoduguni, on the other hand, now has six in his past four matches but remains stranded on one England cap. “The awesome thing about Roko is you give him the ball in space and you know he’s going to make a lot of metres,” Cook added. “You’ve just got to try and keep up with him.”
Gloucester, meanwhile, have now lost three matches in a row. Their own run towards the top six has hit the buffers and successfully defending the Challenge Cup seems their most likely route to Europe’s top table – this season’s winners automatically qualify for the competition.
“Realistically the top six is going to be pretty tough,” said the Gloucester openside Matt Kvesic. “We haven’t helped ourselves. We’ve got Europe to play for though, and we want to be the first team to win it two years in a row. Top six is tough now but we’ll make sure we’ll go really hard in those remaining games.
“Lack of confidence does creep in a bit but we have to stay tight as a group. We know what we’re trying to do behind closed doors and we have to go to Leicester now and make sure we turn up.”
Gloucester Marshall; Halaifonua, Meakes (Trinder, 67), Twelvetrees (Atkinson, 77), McColl; Hook, Laidlaw (capt); McAllister (Thomas, 74), Dawidiuk, Afoa, Savage, Thrush (Galarza, 64), Kalamafoni (Evans, 66), Kvesic, Moriarty.
Pens Laidlaw 4.
Bath Watson; Rokoduguni, Joseph, Devoto, Banahan; Ford, Cook; Catt (Lahiff, 55), Webber (Dunn, 66), Thomas (Wilson, 64), Ewels, Day (Douglas, 72), Garvey, Louw (capt), Mercer (Mafi, 45).
Tries Cook, Rokoduguni 2. Con Ford.
Referee Wayne Barnes. Attendance 16,115.
