Just under 12 months ago, Leicester Tigers were marmalised by Bath in the Aviva Premiership semi-finals, shredded by a devastating back division as Mike Ford’s men ran in seven tries and booked their place at Twickenham with a record 47-10 victory — but a year on, it is Bath who are in a jam.
Leicester return to the Recreation Ground tomorrow having evolved and improved with the recruitment of Aaron Mauger as head coach, once again qualifying for the Premiership semi-finals having also reached the last four in the European Champions Cup.
“Ford is confident that he retains the full support of Bruce Craig, the owner, who bought him lunch on Monday
Bath, in contrast, are ninth in the league. No Premiership finalists have ever fallen so far, so quickly. Why are a club with a wage bill understood to be in the top two in the Premiership down among the also-rans?
The Burgess factor
The impact of Sam Burgess’s time with Bath, which came to an abrupt end after the World Cup, was destabilising and it has resulted, directly or indirectly, in the departures of Ollie Devoto, the centre who is moving to Exeter Chiefs, Lyons flanker Carl Fearns and, in all likelihood, Leroy Houston, the back-row forward from the club. “That did not have a good effect on the squad,” a source said.
The investment in Burgess caused tension from the outset. Before he arrived, the squad sat through a power-point presentation about how he was going to take the club to the next level, which put some noses out of joint given that Bath were second in the table.
Culture crash
Ford is widely acknowledged by the players to be a top-class, knowledgeable head coach but doubts have been expressed to The Times over his man-management techniques.
There are understood to have been a number of instances when players felt that they had been deliberately undermined or misled, which is said to be a tactic of Ford’s to keep the squad on their toes, but it is claimed to have contributed to an erosion of trust. “There needs to be more honesty between the players and the management,” one source said. “Great relationships and respect is forged through honesty. I think he has lost a bit of respect from the boys.”
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Danny Grewcock’s resignation as the head of Bath’s academy has been interpreted by many close to the club as a warning sign that all is not right with the culture. The loss of Neal Hatley, the respected forwards coach who is leaving to become England’s scrum coach, could change the dynamic further, it has been claimed.
“Now he [Hatley] has gone, I seriously think they will be in trouble,” a source said. “He was doing the damage control everywhere because boys were unhappy and he would go around and get them back on board.”
Ford insisted this week, as he has all season, that he has not lost the Bath changing room. “That is massive, having players playing for you,” Ford said. “If you want a good culture, go and win games and get confidence. When you are losing you will look into everything and you will find faults. A lot of good things have happened here over the last few years.”
Ford is confident that he retains the full support of Bruce Craig, the owner, who bought him lunch on Monday.
Game plan
The 2015 Premiership final was a clash of styles and Bath’s attacking verve was neutralised by the control and physicality of Saracens. Ford has admitted that he should have reacted immediately to that defeat, although he has not been helped by the loss of big ball-carriers in Burgess, Fearns and Dave Attwood, who has been injured.
“I should have ripped it up after we lost the final,” he said. “We got ourselves into a hole that we couldn’t get out of. We need to understand more deeply the way we want to play. Saracens understand the way they want to play better than anyone in Europe.”
Recruitment and injuries
Ford did look to evolve Bath’s game by replacing Peter Stringer at scrum half with Niko Matawalu, but it has backfired. Stringer’s lack of running threat invited defences to focus on George Ford and the midfield, as highlighted in the Premiership final, and Matawalu can mix it up more but he lacks consistency, particularly behind a struggling pack.
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Bath opted not to replace Paul James, the Wales prop, which has proved to be a mistake while rotten injury luck robbed them of Stuart Hooper, the captain whose leadership is critical, and Attwood for much of the season. “I feel like I have driven over a black cat,” Ford said.
Father and son
Eddie Jones, the England head coach, is understood to have reservations about father-son, coach-player combinations; it was a factor in his decision not to retain Andy Farrell as his defence coach. Rhys Priestland, the Wales fly half, has had limited opportunities to play despite Ford Jr struggling for form.
“George has had a lot of faith put in him, even when he is not having his best game,” a source close to the club said. “There are opportunities when he [Priestland] could have come on and made a difference.”
There is no suggestion of deliberate bias but the close bond between father and son raises inevitable questions.
The future
Ford is looking outside of the Premiership for a fresh pair of eyes to replace Hatley in the hope that he can have the same impact at Bath as Mauger has had with Leicester.
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“Bath became a story because of the expectation on us,” Ford said. “If you can get freshened up with that sort of help and support it can be a positive.
“We’ve got the best back line in Europe. In the pack next year we have Luke Charteris, Toby Faletau and Elliott Stooke coming in. Our starting XV will be very, very good.”
