Anglo Welsh Cup 17/18

[Triple Exe]

The problem with having selection rules is that Bath were already struggling to pull together a XV due to injury. Exeter are currently quite lucky in a number of ways: relatively few injuries, relatively little England game time and lots of academy talent coming through (although I suppose you can argue luck is only part of that).

 

[Which Tyler]

Why does it need to be a development comp? It never has been after all.
It's for development, to give second string players some game time and to test fitness of injury returnees. A bit like the A-league, development is part of its purpose, but far from all of it.
We've also greater need for rotation time than we do for pure development, a competition that does both in one would be the ideal.


As triple exe says, any form of restricted eligibility would probably have forced Bath to withdraw this season, and they wouldn't have been the only ones.
No, forcing everyone to carry squads of 75 is NOT the answer.

 

[curtbob7]

Baths own fault IMO that their senior playing squad has had poor planning for years and over reliance on pinching young talent from other clubs to fill gaps. Time their academy stood up and was counted.

 

[Which Tyler]

A Leicesterman criticising another club on not using their academy?

Ford shrunk our squad too much, given that contracts exist, it takes time to overcome that. He also decimated our academy (on which, Bruce should have stood up to him).
We now have a squad of 47 seniors, which is plenty.
We have also spent most of the season with 20+ injuries, which is nothing to do with squad size. Anynand every squad would struggle after ruling out 20 senior players, especially so if you then apply restrictions on eligibility.

Saying "it's bath's fault" is just biased stupidity - or ignorance in the face of having been repeatedly informed.

 

[curtbob7]

Hahahahaha except weve had enough players for Anglo Welsh games.

 

[Which Tyler]

Hahahahaha except weve had enough players for Anglo Welsh games.

Yes - but you've also not lost 20+ players to injury.
Besides, Bath have had enough players for Anglo Welsh games.

As posted earlier in the season:
Wiki, on the other hand (and take from that source whatever you wish) thinks:

  Team      Adults  Kids      Total
Sale*         32     10         42
Gloucester    38     19         57
Wasps         39     11         50
Leicester     40     15         55
Saracens      40     18         58
Harlequins    41     17         58
Northampton*  42     14         56
Bath          43     12         55
Lirish        45     11         56
Worcester     45     13         58
Exeter*       45     14         59
Newcastle     49     11         60

Average      41.58  13.75      55.33

NB: Wiki just HAS to be wrong on Sale; it also doesn't split senior from academy for Saints and Exeter; so I've taken the average academy size (13.7) and allotted it that way.

Since then, Bath have added another 6 senior players (and 3 academy). Making our senior squad the second largest in the Premiership (single biggest overall squad) - delighted for you to tell me how many more players we need to reach the minimum acceptable squad size.
FTR 12 of our academy have had game time this season.

Also, adapted from a posting made at the beginning of the season:

Nathan Catt (3)         Nic Auterac        Beno Obano         (Lucas Nogeuro Paz)  Sam Nixon*              Will Vaughan*
Ross Batty (3)          Tom Dunn           Jack Walker (9)    Michael van Vuuren   (Nathan Charles)
Anthony Perenise (12)   Henry Thomas (14)  Max Lahiff         Shaun Knight (2)     Kane Palma-Newport (1)  (Victor Delmas) [Scott Andrews - temp.]
Luke Charteris          Charlie Ewels      Levi Douglas       Rhys Davies*
Dave Attwood (0)        Elliott Stooke     James Phillips     Will Britton*
Matt Garvey             Tom Ellis (3)      Miles Reid*
Francois Louw (6)       Sam Underhill (9)  Josh Bayliss*
Taulupe Faletau         Zach Mercer        Paul Grant
 
Kahn Fotuali'i          Chris Cook         Will Homer         Darren Allinson      [Max Green*]
Freddie Burns           Rhys Priestland    Josh Lewis
Matt Banahan            Jack Wilson        (Cooper Vuna)      Harry Davies*
Ben Tapuai              (James Wilson)     [Max Wright*]
Jonathan Joseph         Max Clark (10)     (Will Hurrell)
Semesa Rokoduguni (13)  Aled Brew          Jeff Williams (4)  Levi Davies*
Anthony Watson          Tom Homer (6)      Darren Atkins*     Will Partington*

Bracketed number is the number of matches that player has been available for selection - this does not include all injuries, and pretty much definition won't include those who were low enough down the pecking order to not be selected anyway on any given week (as I won't tend to know that they're unavailable). Only including those who've missed more than half the season. Bracketted players are mid-season signings. Astersisks are academy kids called into action for the seniors.

Either way, tell me again how strong your squad would be if you lose 1 LHPs; 3 HKs & 4 THPs simultanesouly... and have to put out 2 teams on the same weekend? And that's without looking past the front row!

 

[TRF_Olyy]

Our squad is tiny to be fair,
We've put out 7-1 splits on the bench because we had no fit backs before

 

[LeinsterMan (NotTigsMan)]

I mean it's been nearly two years since Ford was sacked, Bath have had at least one full year to increase the squad size.

Our squad is tiny to be fair,
We've put out 7-1 splits on the bench because we had no fit backs before

And even then you like putting your backs into the forwards for lineouts.

 

[TRF_Olyy]

If it's stupid and it works it's not stupid

 

[Which Tyler]

I mean it's been nearly two years since Ford was sacked, Bath have had at least one full year to increase the squad size.

Yep - once contract negotiation period. During which time we increased the squad from 33 to 43; with a further 6 during the season. That people are talking about Bath having a small squad this season simply shows their own ignorance.

We still have an unbalanced squad, but each year should get better on that... until Bladders heads back to NZ (or is fired) and we have to get a new DoR again

If it's stupid and it works it's not stupid

Careful, that could easily be Mike Ford saying that when his tiny squad reached the final

 

[curtbob7]

Which stems from poor planning and lack of quality in academy/development

 

[Which Tyler]

Which stems from poor planning and lack of quality in academy/development

What exactly stems from that? 1 wrong DoR appointment?

Appoint the wrong DoR, and no **** sherlock all the jobs of the DoR are poor.

Or do you mean that it's Todd's fault that Ford shrunk the academy, shrunk the senior squad and forced out the Academy director who was actually doing a deent job?
Or do you still think that the largest overall squad in the Prem is too small? or that Bath's larger than averge academy is too small? Or is it a systemic issue with Bath that they have suffered a lot of injuries this season? and nothing at all to do with sheer bad luck.

 

[Triple Exe]

NB: Wiki just HAS to be wrong on Sale

Yeah, it is.

In fact their website only lists 31 senior players and 9 senior academy who have also played (mostly AW games).