'Confident' Bath head to Sixways
South African No.8 Luke Watson will make his first start for both this weekend as they turn their attentions back to the Guinness Premiership and get ready to take on Worcester at Sixways.
Speaking ahead of the clash, Skills and Defence coach Brad Davis said: “We are looking forward to getting back playing Guinness Premiership matches,
“We are not comfortable in the position we find ourselves in the table at the moment, so we will be looking to move up now.”
“What I believe we have shown in the last few weeks is a lot of spirit and character and hopefully that will hold us in good stead. We are under no illusion that playing Worcester on a Friday night at Sixways is a pretty daunting task, but if we have to have the right frame of mind we will get the result.”
Having made put in such a strong performance over the previous two matches young player Ben Williams has managed to retain his starting position and Scott Hobson, Mark Lilley and Paul Roberts are on the bench.
“What the young guys have demonstrated is their level of desire,” said Davis.
“They have definitely given us a few selection headaches which is a good thing and is also testament to how hard they have worked.”
Watson, a try scoring replacement last weekend, starts at the back of the scrum with his captain, and countryman, Michael Claassens alongside him at scrumhalf.
The good news for Worcester this week meanwhile then is the return of back row Kai Horstmann.
Horstmann, who has been out of action since mid-September, returns to the pack for his fourth league appearance of the campaign.
Director of Rugby Mike Ruddock makes a total of 13 changes to the line-up that faced Scarlets in the LV= Cup last weekend as he recalls those who were rested for the trip to Wales.
Samoan centre Dale Rasmussen will make his first league start of the season while Chris Latham, Sam Tuitupou and Miles Benjamin return in the backs.
Prop Tevita Taumoepeau is declared fit to take his spot in the pack after recovering from a back injury.
“We’re looking forward to the game,” said Ruddock. “We rested up a few guys for this fixture and we expect them to go in with plenty of energy and plenty of edge.
“It was in our best interests to freshen players up, use the six-day turnaround to properly prepare a team without the distraction of injuries.
“We want to go into Friday confident and fully firing. That has what has happened this week, preparations have been good and Pat Sanderson has told me this is the most fresh he has felt for quite a while.
“That is good to hear and now we must try and translate that onto the park to get a positive result.”
Ruddock believes the battle of the breakdown will, once again, prove crucial to the outcome of the game this week.
“I am a big fan of Bath because they play some top rugby,” he said.
“They probably won’t want a set piece game with us, I think they will want to play with width and tempo, play an off loading game. It will be a tough task to bottle them up and keep them confined.
“The breakdown will once again be very important. They want quick ball so we have got to try and turn them over and force some mistakes in deep areas.
“We want to play some open and attractive rugby and test them, look for the space rather than the man.
“But when they have the ball we are aware of their pace and ability to move the ball quickly through hands, we need to try and pressure them and tackle effectively.”
The Teams:
Warriors: 15 Chris Latham, 14 Marcel Garvey, 13 Dale Rasmussen, 12 Sam Tuitupou, 11 Miles Benjamin, 10 Willie Walker, 9 Ryan Powell, 8 Kai Horstmann, 7 Pat Sanderson (captain), 6 Tom Wood, 5 Craig Gillies, 4 Greg Rawlinson, 3 Tevita Taumoepeau, 2 Aleki Lutui, 1 Callum Black.
Replacements: 16 Adam Black, 17 Chris Fortey, 18 Olivier Sourgens, 19 Graham Kitchener, 20 Jake Abbott, 21 Jonny Arr, 22 Calum MacRae, 23 Rico Gear.
Bath: 15 Nick Abendanon, 14 Matt Carraro, 13 Shontayne Hape, 12 Ben Williams, 11 Jack Cuthbert, 10 Ryan Davis, 9 Michael Claassens (captain), 8 Luke Watson, 7 Julian Salvi, 6 Ben Skirving, 5 Danny Grewcock, 4 Peter Short, 3 Aaron Jarvis, 2 Pieter Dixon, 1 David Flatman.
Replacements: 16 Mears, 17 Catt, 18 Lilley, 19 Hobson, 20 Browne, 21 Bemand, 22 Roberts, 23 Stephenson.
Date: Friday, November 20
Kick-off: 20.00 GMT
Venue: Sixways Stadium
Referee: Wayne Barnes
