Ollie Phillips: Bath’s senior players need to step up
If last week’s 17-71 mauling taught Bath anything it’s that they need to step up. They were totally outclassed by a Saracens side boasting a full starting XV of internationals, but that’s no excuse.
Though they were without their bulldozing No8 Taulupe Faletau through injury, Bath were still able to field Jonathan Joseph, Anthony Watson, Danny Cipriani and others.
It’s embarrassing to be rolled over like that at your local club, let alone in a Premiership rugby match. You couldn’t even compare apples with apples on Sunday, the teams were leagues apart.
It’s the perennial question of questions when it comes to what’s going wrong at Bath.
The club is rooted in the history and the heritage of the game. The region lives and breathes it and the ground is the heartbeat of the town centre.
I think there’s a little bit of complacency there in terms of the quality and calibre of players. You need to be up for Newcastle away on a Friday night, let alone at home to three-time European Champions, Saracens. Every game matters In this league.
The last fixture head coach Stuart Hooper would have wanted after last weekend’s drubbing was a trip to Harlequins, where they head tomorrow.
Quins came unstuck up against a tough Sale side last week but they were close. They’re a difficult outfit to break down and beat and Bath will have their work cut out.
I think it’s always easy to point the finger at a coach but he’s not the one that lost it on the field. If you’re not mentally and physically engaged then you’re going to lose the contest. Rugby is primarily about being dominating your opposite number. If you get those basics right then you’ll win more than you lose and Bath are not at the races currently.
Hooper is obviously under pressure and he came into the job fairly new and wet behind the ears. He was a standout player for the club but not all great players make great coaches.
There has been talk this week of former Sale director of rugby Steve Diamond potentially landing a role at the club. Would he want Hooper there if he were to get the job? Unlikely.
Diamond is a classic turnaround coach. He brings in spades all the basics Bath need to embrace. He’s all about winning the physical collisions, he likes a dominant contest and a strong set piece.
It won’t be easy to turn it around this weekend, especially away to the champions, but if their injured players return and their big players step up – there’s time in the season for Bath, and Hooper, yet.
Across the pond, the US officially launched their bid to host the 2027 World Cup. This would be a sensational move for the sport.
They hosted the World Cup Sevens in 2018 in San Francisco. It was a great success, albeit across one weekend.
The committee said they were aiming for 50,000 fans at every match and I believe that their ambitious approach could get them to that point.
Other candidates include Australia and Russia. It would be a political challenge for World Rugby to sell Russia as a candidate while Australia really needs the money to fund their recent revival. For me, though, the US must be the frontrunner.
Former England Sevens captain Ollie Phillips is the founder of Optimist Performance, experts in leadership development and behavioural change. Follow Ollie on Twitter and on LinkedIn.