Red Bulls in for tough time at Bath

Newcastle Red Bulls travel to Bath tomorrow in the latest round of Gallagher Prem action. 

Bath go strong

Bath currently sit in second place but have Leicester and Exeter chasing them down in the battle for a top two place and a home semi final. They’ll be disappointed with a loss at Exeter last weekend and will be looking to put things right at home on Saturday afternoon. 

As with any Bath side given the depth they have they name a strong looking squad. The front row sees Beno Obano, Tom Dunn and Thomas Du Toit form a powerful unit. Ted Hill and Charlie Ewels are in the second row. The back row sees Josh Bayliss, Guy Pepper and Miles Reid complete a formidable looking Bath pack.

The Bath backs don’t look too shabby either with Ben Spencer and Finn Russell running the game from half back. Cameron Redpath and Red Bulls bound Chris Harris are in the centre. Henry Arundell, Joe Cokanasiga and Santi Carreras will look to profit in the back three.

On the bench Dan Frost, Francois Van Wyk and Vilikesa Sela cover the front row. Ross Molony, Sam Underhill and Alfie Barbeary cover the rest of the forwards. Tom Carr-Smith and Max Ojomoh cover the backs. 

Long afternoon for Red Bulls?

Stephen Jones has named his squad for Saturday and unsurprisingly there are changes.

Murray McCallum who I rate comes in to start in the front row alongside George McGuigan and a first Gallagher Prem start for Connor Hancock. There’s a new look second row with Freddie Clark and John  Hawkins combining. Adam Scott and Fergus Lee-Warner come into the back row alongside Tom Chrisitie. 

Simon Benitez Cruz and Brett Connon continue at half back. Sammy Arnold partners Rhys Beeckmans in the centre, Beeckmans will play at outside centre, we’ve normally seen him at inside centre. Alex Hearle switches to the wing, Harrison Obatoyinbo comes in on the other wing and Josh Hodge is at fullback.

On the benchOllie Fletcher, Jamie Clark and Adam Brocklebank cover the front row. Jamie Hodgson and Amanaki Mafi cover the back row. James Elliott, Ethan Grayson and Christian Wade cover the back three.

I don’t think anyone expects a Red Bulls win but what people want to see is a reaction from last week. It was all too easy for Quins who didn’t have to work hard for their tries as the defence just wasn’t good enough. If Red Bulls defend like they did then Bath could put a cricket score on them. 

Red Bulls have to be better

I know players are leaving but the concern for me last week was around those who are staying, some of them didn’t put a marker down at all. There’s been a fair bit said about Christian Wade and his performance, that was summed up by being replaced by a scrum half. Defensively Josh Hodge was just as bad, as good as they both can be attacking, I don’t think defensively you can have them both in the same team. 

This is a huge challenge for this Red Bulls outfit, I want to see them stand up and give it all the effort they have. Bath are stacked and for the likes of Hancock on his first Prem start and Rhys Beeckmans playing at outside centre it’s a huge challenge. There are 21 injuries in camp which is a massive amount and no doubt has an impact. 

Tough afternoon ahead

The disappointing nature of the defeat last week either means we’ll see some sort of reaction or the players could be on the beach again. I’m a fan of McCallum coming in to start but the front row have a horrible task on their hands against Oban, Dunn and Du Toit. Like I’ve said I want to see a better performance this week and that’s about as high as my expectations can be against an all star Bath lineup.