Bath chief assesses his options for Tigers clash
BATH Rugby winger Ruaridh McConnochie has been undergoing consultations with a surgeon this week after suffering a shoulder injury in the victory over London Irish.
The England international will certainly not feature this weekend against Leicester Tigers in the Gallagher Premiership at the experts determine the best course of treatment.
Bath director of rugby Stuart Hooper said: “Ruaridh picked up a shoulder injury in the game and he has had a consultation today and we hope to know exactly where we are at by the weekend.
“He is not going to be available this week. I can tell you that much.
“When I get the results back from the surgeon I can sit down with him and we will have a better understanding of how long he will be out for.
The good news for Bath is another sevens convert Will Muir returns from his two-game suspension for a dangerous tackle against London Irish this week to be ‘back in the mix’ to face Leicester Tigers at The Rec on Sunday in Round 16 of the league with the eighth placed Blue, Black and White looking to leap frog their old rivals who sit in seventh.
Hooker Tom Dunn has one week remaining on his three-game suspension.
Injured full-back Tom de Glanville is also closing in on a return to action but is not expected to feature this weekend.
Hooper said: “Tom is rehabbing which means he is not in full training but he is up and running. Depending on how long players have been out for I want them to be back in training for one, two, three weeks before they are available for selection; he is not at that stage yet but he is on the road to recovery and not too far away.”
Bath remain down to at least their fourth choice at fly-half this weekend but Hooper expects to be able to call upon 19-year-old Orlando Bailey despite the England U20s stand-off failing a head injury assessment last weekend in the victory against the Exiles in the Challenge Cup quarterfinal which saw Cam Redpath move from 12 to 10 early in his first game in eight weeks after returning from a neck injury.
Discussing the selection issues at fly-half, with Danny Cipriani not set to arrive at the club until next month, Hooper said: “We are in a pretty similar situation to last week. Lani (Orlando Bailey) failed his HIA so he is going through the standard returnto-play protocols but we expect him to be available.
“Other than that Rhys Priestland (hamstring/calf ) is not available and Tian Schoeman (knee), as you know, is not available for a long while.
“Josh Matavesi is not far away (calf ), we have seen him in training today so we will have a good chat about that and see where we end up on Friday lunchtime with our team announcement.”
Hooper continued: “I wouldn’t worry about starting Cam Redpath at fly-half. The composure he shows and the confidence he shows gives me confidence in picking him at 12 or 10. He is a centre but he does a very good job covering 10.”
In Priestland’s absence, scrum half Ben Spencer has taken over kicking duties at the club and excelled and Hooper said the former Saracens man’s kicking abilities came as no surprise to him.
He said: “Ben has been kicking not only for goal but for touch exceptionally well and getting some really good distance on those kicks.
“I think over time squads have to develop and people’s ability to do a number of things well is a huge bonus within a squad because we have a cap we have to work to. Players’ ability to play a couple of positions or give you cover in crucial areas of the game like kicking for touch or goal is massive. It allows us to play and select different combinations.
“He has always practised his goal kicking, it has always been part of his game and it was something we identified during our recruitment process. When you bring someone into the club you have a deep dive into what they can offer you and what we can develop and his goal kicking was certainly part of that.”