BATH
With the riches Todd Blackadder has inherited, Bath should be going places this season. The arrival of Welsh internationals Taulupe Faletau and Luke Charteris to augment a line-up already chock-a-block with England Test stars like George Ford, Jonathan Joseph and Anthony Watson means that last season’s post-Burgess slump to ninth should soon be past history.
Add to that Springbok flanker Francois Louw and a whole host of present or past England squad men – Semesa Rokoduguni, Charlie Ewels, Dave Attwood, Henry Thomas, David Wilson and Matt Banahan – plus Wales fly-half Rhys Priestland, and a top four trajectory is the least Bath supporters will expect.
However, for that to happen the soft core mentality that has afflicted Bath for years will have to be banished. Big name forwards will have to play big every weekend, not just once in a while, starting with an immaculate scrum and lineout.
Repairing the short-circuit at scrum-half since Peter Stringer’s departure should be at the top of Blackadder’s to-do list, making it essential that Kahn Fotuali’i and Ford mesh quickly as a 9-10 partnership. Sharpening the claws of the back row when Faletau and Louw are on international duty is another must.