We are at the business end of the season and Bath have two big matches in a row with the top of the table clash against Northampton Saints in the Prem yesterday, before taking on reiging Champions Cup holders Bordeaux-Begles in south-west France next weekend.
There have been interesting shifts of dynamics for coaches in recent years due to the challenge of having to manage bigger squads and keep players happy despite having to juggle rotation schedules.
The task is made more complex by also having to make adjustments for the rest periods and absences involving international players.
The way rotation goes has changed how coaches see that element of always putting out your best team, especially when you have the strength-in-depth of the Bath squad.
Balancing act
Johann van Graan will certainly have considered the challenge of Bordeaux when he was picking the side to play Northampton at Franklin’s Gardens – and it explains why he went for less than his first-choice team against Saints.
It’s a difficult balancing act, because with Bath in second place in the Prem, and Leicester six points behind them in third place, defeat at Northampton could put their chances of a home play-off semi-final in danger.
However, a less-than-first-choice Bath team remains strong. Outside nailed-on starters such as Thomas du Toit, Tom Dunn, Charlie Ewels, Ben Spencer and Finn Russell, there would be an argument over selection in almost all other positions.
For instance, there are four centres, four wingers, and two fullbacks who could all be seen as first choice, and there’s also multiple choice in the front row and back row – and anyone who played the house down against Northampton will have a chance of getting into the 23 for the game against Bordeaux.
The positive side of rotation means that everyone in the squad gets an opportunity, and if everyone is playing well, it leads to genuine confidence.
For instance, in the back row, Bath fans love Miles Reid because he’s a local boy, and Alfie Barbeary has also become a crowd favourite.
Wealth of talent
Sam Underhill’s physical presence at flanker, and the speed of Josh Bayliss, the Scottish international No.8, has also earned both players a lot of support – but Bath’s wealth of back row talent will be getting its most severe test against Bordeaux.
Bath also know that Saints can carve them up.
The evidence came in a home loss to Northampton earlier this season, and again, even more recently in the Champions Cup quarter-final at The Rec, which the East Midlanders will think they should have won after taking a 21-point lead in the first-half.
The intensity of the domestic rivalry with Saints is great preparation for the Bordeaux game, and I would imagine nine or 10 of the Bath line-up against Northampton are likely to be in the 23 that face Bordeaux at the Stade Atlantique.
So, Saints are as tough a test as Bath could have wanted a week before playing Bordeaux.
It will be interesting to see who Van Graan picks in midfield for Bordeaux, with Cameron Redpath, Ollie Lawrence, Max Ojomoh, and Will Butt competing at centre.
Difficult selection choices
Ojomoh is scoring tries and defended well recently against Harlequins, but he’s had a mixed season since the high of a man-of-the-match display in England‘s autumn victory over Argentina, when he scored a try and made two more.
After that, not to be considered by England head coach Steve Borthwick during the Six Nations seemed strange, especially given that a misfiring team should have meant his currency went up, not down.
Van Graan has other difficult selection choices to make against Bordeaux, like who starts at fullback between Santi Carreras and Tom de Glanville, or whether Barbeary gets into the back row ahead of Ted Hill, Bayliss, or Reid.
De Glanville is a quality player who has had amazing games, but Carreras has also made headlines since joining Bath, and showed his star quality again last weekend against Quins.
His international class, experience, and ability to play almost anywhere in the backline, gives the Argentine the edge.
Players moving on always happens, but ever since it’s been known that Barbeary is on his way to Saracens next season, he’s been on fire!
He’s been man-of-the-match almost every game – and it makes you wonder if those making the hard financial choices at Bath might have come to a different decision if Alfie had been playing like this earlier in the season.
Rotation era
The reality is that every Bath player will want to start in every match, and that was certainly my mindset as a player at the club.
However, that outlook has had to change in the rotation era, and to me, if I was playing now, the idea of coming on when you are fresh and in good form for half an hour against a team that’s tired is pretty appealing.
You’ve got to change your thinking because we are in the bench era when the most successful teams have a best 23, not a best 15.
In today’s game, if you’re on parade, it doesn’t matter if it’s eight minutes off the bench or 80 minutes, you’re on parade.
Probably the big difference is that if you asked players if they still want to be the first choice in their position, all of them would say ‘yes’, but they would also accept that does not necessarily mean always being in the starting 15.
In terms of strategic approach, what strikes me is that Bordeaux have a big pack, and Bath can be slow starters.
Strongest pack
My instinct is Bath don’t want to give Bordeaux any forward dominance, or a head start, because if they get momentum, and the referee starts to reward them, and the crowd get behind them, it’s very difficult to make up for lost ground.
That’s why I would select my strongest pack to start, because, although Bath have done well on two fronts, these are the acid tests.
Last season, when Bath played Bristol, they conceded three tries and could not catch up, whereas this season in the Champions Cup quarter-final, they did the same, but managed to overhaul Northampton.
Despite that success against Saints, it’s risky. If you’re chasing, the pressure can build to the extent that even the smallest mistakes are costly, and you start to seize up.
That’s when teams with the strike power of Bordeaux can run riot.
If you talk to Bath supporters about a weakness, they will say that the lineout needs work all round, whether it’s catchers, throwers, or lifters.
Match-winners
In terms of timing, the lineout is as technical as a golf swing – and you have to nail it, because as a fundamental source of possession it breeds confidence.
Getting it wrong against a team of Bordeaux’s calibre does the opposite, and do it away from home and the crowd will just get louder and louder.
Bordeaux-Begles do not have as many galacticos as Toulouse, or their history of winning trophies, and winning back-to-back European titles will be hard.
However, anyone who has been to Bordeaux knows it is a fantastic rugby city, and suddenly, having beaten Toulouse in the quarters, they have a team striving for greatness, spearheaded by winger Louis Bielle-Biarrey, a player of such world-class gifts he is a match-winner on his own.
Bath also have their share of international quality match-winners, which is why this semi-final is such a mouthwatering prospect.
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