The reigning Gallagher PREM champions suffered a rare home defeat over Christmas, beaten 41-21 by a rotated Northampton Saints side, before they needed a last-minute Arthur Green try to see off Exeter Chiefs a week later
Bath might not be at their absolute best right now but Anthony Watson believes that will not matter if they can clinch top spot in their Investec Champions Cup pool this Friday night.
The reigning Gallagher PREM champions suffered a rare home defeat over Christmas, beaten 41-21 by a rotated Northampton Saints side, before they needed a last-minute Arthur Green try to see off Exeter Chiefs a week later.
They impressed when turning their attention to Champions Cup action, picking up all five points away to Castres, and now it is Edinburgh who come to the Rec on Friday night, with top spot in Pool 2 the reward should Bath come out on top.
And while Watson readily admits that Finn Russell and his star-studded teammates are not at the peak of their powers, he knows that at this stage of the season, results are all that matter.
“I think Bath are in a decent spot, but I wouldn’t say they are absolutely flying or hitting their straps but they are doing enough to win, which is sometimes more than enough,” said Watson, who is part of the Premier Sports team bringing a packed weekend of world-class international rugby action as the knockout stages are decided with 15 blockbuster fixtures.
“You’ve just got to get over the line and the confidence players get when they are playing six out of 10 or five out of 10 and winning does so much more for you down the line because you don’t want to peak now anyway.
“The Saints loss was a bit of an alarm bell given the manner in which it happened and what it could have been, because they had three tries disallowed. That was a bit alarming from a defensive standpoint.
“Against Castres, they were really tactically astute. They gave them absolutely nothing to work with. A French team at home, the crowd plays such an important role and wants something to go after.
“When you keep taking the sting out of the game like Bath did, it’s case of what can you do? Bath did what they needed to do to get out of there with five points.”
Watson is part of Premier Sports’ Friday night team at The Rec ( Premier Sports 1 from 7pm ) and any slip-up against Edinburgh would prove costly for Bath, who would then likely find themselves playing away from home as soon as the last 16.
And with reigning champions Bordeaux-Bègles setting the pace again this season, having triumphed in emphatic fashion against Northampton Saints last week, Watson has warned Bath that they cannot afford another slip-up, having already lost away to Toulon earlier in the competition in a game where they rested both Ben Spencer and Guy Pepper.
He added: “I’m looking at the Bath game on Friday night against Edinburgh and I think for both teams it’s almost a knockout game, I know it’s not.
“If Bath have to have a tough away trip, it makes the whole draw so much more significantly difficult.
“When you add a tough Prem season on the back of that, it’s not what you need. Edinburgh have to go full strength this weekend to Bath to sneak a win or get as many points as possible.
“Because going to Bordeaux in the next round, from a player’s perspective, you are going to be looking at that as a five per cent chance of winning, they are that good, and you add on home advantage and it’s an uphill task to say the least.
“Bath will be really frustrated with their position in the Champions Cup given they could have won that Toulon game away.
“Whether the rotation of the squad was necessary for that one, I’m not sure. From a tactics standpoint, I feel the Champions Cup, you’ve got to frontload your squad. Rounds one and two, give it your absolute best shot. Doing it in round one or two seems crazy.
“I think Bath could have won that Toulon game relatively easily if they had played their absolute best team, it was very tight even with the rotated team that they sent. That is my only slight.”
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