The Stinger

Bath face a stinger of a contest when they host Wasps this coming Saturday.  The League leaders, riding high with a 6 point advantage seem to have found form just when Bath are going through an uncertain patch.  Admittedly the men from the Ricoh have won only 3 of their 5 Premiership matches since Christmas, against Bath’s 2, but they have the edge in bonus points and tries scored. A total of 19 points and 21 tries show a team peaking at a difficult time in the season. In those matches they have been involved in some humdingers – taking 3 points from a 10 try draw with Exeter and even managing 2 bonus points in defeat to Sale.  They seem able to shrug off the loss of key players to international duty, while Bath –more afflicted by injury than national duties- are struggling to field a settled side. Todd Blackadder has refused to blame the absence of 20 players for Bath’s truly disappointing derby defeat at Bristol last Sunday.  “No excuses” he said “We actually prepared really well and it showed in the first 15, 20 minutes when we kept them under pressure and had a couple of try-scoring opportunities.” True, but Bath failed to take those early opportunities, just as in previous defeats to Exeter and Newcastle they had squandered clear leads. Psychologically Bath seem fragile, while Wasps, win or lose, are full of buzzing intent. The stage seems set for a stinging humiliation by the visitors –or does it?