Matson: Bath’s battle at 10 will fuel title charge
FREDDIE Burns can be world-class for England and his No.10 battle with Rhys Priestland will boost Bath’s title charge, according to departed head coach Tabai Matson.
Matson has returned to New Zealand for family reasons after just 13 months at the Rec. However, the 44year-old is confident his former charges will continue to flourish, with a fascinating duel for the flyhalf jersey set to underpin their drive for silverware.
“One of our No.10s is going to do the job,” Matson said. “We’ve got two bloody good tens in Rhys and Freddie and the team’s very aspirational about winning a championship, which you often do on the back of your key playmakers.
“One of these tens is going to grab the Premiership by the scruff of the neck and either Freddie or Rhys will have a fantastic year. Clearly they’ll both play big parts, but one will go to the next level and prove he should have played more internationally.
“Rhys started the season because he completed the whole of pre-season and Freddie’s concussion meant we had to hold him back a bit, but Freddie’s ready to explode now and it will be fascinating to see which of them emerges as the key figure.”
Asked whether Burns is capable of adding to his five Test caps, Matson replied: “Absolutely. Freddie’s got all the pre-requisites to be a world-class international – one who can push past George Ford and Owen Farrell and grab that jersey.”
Burns must go some to achieve that but Matson believes England’s depth at fly-half, where Alex Lozowski, Piers Francis and Marcus Smith are also in the mix, is indicative of an improving side that is ready to challenge the world champion All Blacks.
Matson said: “Timing is everything in sport and Eddie Jones’ impact on the English national team has been marked, not just through results but in consistency of performance and the players he’s been unearthing from one Test series to the next.
“The tour to Argentina was a raging success and his communication with the clubs and willingness to involve coaches like Neal Hatley and Steve Borthwick on the ground, paying real attention to the guys coming through, is absolutely first rate. In fact, I’ll put my New Zealand hat on here and go as far as saying I’m a bit frightened.
“England are definitely going in the right direction and he’s exposed a big group of players to Test match rugby. The elite group is constantly evolving and more people will get exposure to the England camp and how things are rolling.
“We’re two years out from a World Cup so they’ll be looking to consolidate their squad and the way they play the game. With the All Blacks match finally lined up it’s going to be an interesting year for England – as a Kiwi I’m concerned.”
Matson’s legacy at Bath is a side sprinkled with homegrown talent which has seen Max Clark, Tom Dunn, Beno Obano, Zach Mercer and Tom Ellis promoted from the academy and given prolonged runs in the Premiership.
Matson said: “The club’s aspirational to win but to make success sustainable you have to start funnelling players through. That’s what successful clubs like Exeter and Saracens have done and you need that mixture of old and new.
“As well as those young guys, Bath’s got real leaders now in people like Matt Garvey and Charlie Ewels. As long as they all keep stepping forward on a weekly basis, they’re going to take some stopping later on in the season.”