Fallen idol Burns back in saddle
BATH have kept faith with Freddie Burns for today’s Heineken Cup tie at Wasps after his howler last week. Burns celebrated before grounding the ball against Toulouse and had it knocked from his grasp, costing his side victory. But he has been named at stand-off for the trip to the Ricoh and flanker Francois Louw said: “It will be a big test of character for him. He’ll have his demons to deal with and I’m sure he will. He’s a tough guy, he’s a big boy.
“There’s no place for a rugby player to sit and lick his wounds. The rest of the boys are all on board with that.
“Hanging onto something like that can pull a team back. We’ve got to move on and start playing winning rugby.”
Burns, who was admonished on the pitch by team-mate Jackson Willison, was in obvious distress after the game. But Louw says dealing with the blunder head-on has helped lance the boil. “It’s a very honest environment, the professional rugby environment. Things are said as they are,” said Louw.
“You either take it on the chin or you bow out. If you do take it on the chin, you’ve got the rest of the squad standing right beside you.
“The moment you get out on the training pitch it’s done. The focus is more on what we can do better collectively. Those other points are up to individuals to deal with themselves.”
Bath, who won at Wasps in Europe three years ago, need a similar result today to put their European campaign back on an even keel.
“We’ve used up one of our lives but we’re going with a positive attitude,” said Louw.
“We’re bitterly disappointed with the Toulouse result but we know how we played, especially in the first half, and we know the game should have been ours.”