Todd urges Bath to ‘live in the moment’
Todd Blackadder doesn’t want Bath Rugby to be blinded by the glare of a trophy this season. Whereas before previous campaigns he has been happy to outline the club’s goals, such as making the Premiership play-offs and Champions Cup knockout stages to be in a position to win a competition, this time he is not looking so far ahead. On the eve of what will be his third season as director of rugby and a curtain-raiser against Bristol Bears at Ashton Gate on Friday night, he said: “We want to challenge in every game – to win or get some points. “We have to stay in the fight because I think if we just chip away slowly and not get too carried away with outcomes we’ll be absolutely fine. “Every time we talk up the big stuff we never seem to achieve it. We just want to live in the moment.” Bath needed two bonus-point wins at the end of last season to finish sixth and sneak into the Champions Cup places. New players have come in over the summer, as have attack coach Girvan Dempsey from Leinster and Katie Warriner, who will work part-time as the club’s mind coach. They have also enjoyed a summer of training where they lost only one player – Tonga’s Cooper Vuna – to a senior international call-up. “It’s been really exciting and really challenging,” Blackadder said as he reflected on pre-season. “I’ve never been more impressed with the quality group of men that we have. “Character-wise, they’ve been brilliant and worked so hard for each other. I almost feel like we could select two teams for this Friday. “There’s not a lot between the guys. Some of the selection conversations were pretty tough, which is exactly what you want. “We’ve got a lot of trust in this group, so everyone will get their opportunities. “I’m feeling excitement for the players. I just want us to get out there, unleash and really express ourselves.”
Freddie Burns has recovered from his head knock in the home, 45-12 win against Scarlets, to be in contention for selection. Bath will need to be on their mettle as they renew their old rivalry with Bristol, who have rebranded as the Bears. More than 22,000 tickets have already been sold for the clash at Ashton Gate, which means it will be a record home crowd. Blackadder has pitted his wits against Bristol’s head coach Pat Lam before when he was coaching at Crusaders and Lam was on the coaching staff at the Blues in Super Rugby. The pair know each other from their playing days too; having both played for New Zealand 7s and Crusaders. Blackadder is expecting Bristol to be a lot better than they were the last time they were in the top flight in 2016/17, when they finished bottom. “It’s pretty much going to be a full house at Bristol, which is fantastic,” he said. “Hopefully, there will be a lot of Bath supporters there and there wouldn’t be a better way of kicking the competition off. They will be well-drilled, I have no doubt about that.”