News
Preview: Challenge Cup Final
May 23 2008
They call it Europe's second tier, but try telling that to the finalists. Up for grabs for Bath and Worcester in Sunday's Challenge Cup Final at Kingsholm is a ticket to ride into the top tier next season, and thoroughly deserved it would be.
Bath will start overwhelming favourites. After a season in which they missed out on topping the Premiership table by a whisker and then fell foul of an irrepressible Wasps end-of-season charge, the thirst for glory will be reaching parched levels.
There are emotional reasons to win as well: the departure of favourite sons Olly Barkley and Steve Borthwick ought to spur on both those two and the team-mates they have so loyally supported through thick and thin down the years. the pain of last year's second-half capitulation to Clermont in the final will still linger in the minds of those who were there as well.
Worcester are also bidding goodbye to a trio: Shane Drahm, Drew Hickey, and Thinus Delport are all on their way at the end of the season, despite apparent attempts by the club to put the brakes on Drahm's move to Japan.
There is little to suggest Bath won't do it. Worcester's season has got better and better, and the quality of new recruit under Mike Ruddock has been tip-top, but the team remains very much a work in progress. They can be brilliant, but cohesion is still hard to come by. Against complete teams such as Bath, the Warriors often see one part of their game fall away, and it has cost them too often.
There is an added impetus to their charge as well: Bath have already notched Heineken Cup qualification through their Premiership finish, but this is Worcester's only chance to grab their first tilt at the Heineken Cup. What a boost that would be to the team that has taken three years to firmly establish itself in England's top flight!
"There has been a different mindset this week with us being in the final, it has lifted the players and they know this is a wonderful opportunity for them," said Director of Rugby Mike Ruddock.
"If we can win it will be a great story with the club coming through the different leagues and then playing in the Heineken Cup."
The teams contrast one another in recent history. While Worcester's recruitment drive and willingness to splash the cash has even seen them linked with Dan Carter, Bath have been scrabbling around for players while trying to break free of the by-law shackles that prevent them from expanding.
Steve Meehan has done a terrific job keeping the players together, particularly through a period of huge unrest nearly a year ago when so many of the squad were angry at the club's perceived lack of ambition. The tight team ethos he has cultivated has resulted in the team's stellar season, including that 40-point first half against Saracens which had one eminent UK scribe penning an entire column on the rare wonders of perfection. It is not a team packed with big names, but it punches well above its weight.
Yet, as with neighbours - and Saturday's hosts - Gloucester, there is lingering doubt over the big-match temperament. the last two matches were to take them top of the Guinness Premiership, and then to the final of it. Granted both were away, and granted against the two other best teams in the land, but Bath scored only one try during the games, and spent forty scoreless minutes in the ascension against Gloucester. Their attack is not always as sharp as that day against Saracens.
It seems Worcester will have to front up, just as Gloucester and Wasps did then. They have the pack to do it, and an uncompromising centre duo in Sam Tuitoupu and Samoan Dale Rasmussen, coupled with an attitude instilled in them by Ruddock.
"Bath have played some great rugby all season, they have been the form team for a lot of the campaign so we know the task we are facing," he said.
"We have looked at them closely and we are aiming for our defence to be up to the mark. We are ready to face them."
With David Barnes out with a calf injury, David Flatman starts in a Bath front row which also sees Lee Mears return from a shoulder injury.
A change in the backs from last weekend sees Nick Abendanon start at full-back with Joe Maddock moving to the wing in place of Andrew Higgins who is out with a ligament injury.
"We've had to show an enormous amount of courage, I believe, to continue down this path of trying to play expansive rugby and team rugby," said Meehan.
"I think it would be fitting if they (the Bath team) could come out this weekend and end with a trophy."
We'll see.
Ones to watch:
For Bath: Matt Banahan would love nothing better than to round off his storming season with a try in a winning final. A monster of a wing, who is tall enough to have started his career at lock before his speed came to the fore, Banahan will enjoy some 30cm of height advantage over opposite number Marcel Garvey
For Worcester: Shane Drahm's importance to the Worcester cause appear to have been recognised a mite too late. Having lost form and his first-team place earlier in the season, he signed for a Japanese club for 2008/9. Cue a return to form, and a desperate last-ditch attempt by the club's senior management to persuade him to come back. That didn't work, but Drahm could kick and run his team to glory as a farewell gift.
Head to head: Greg Rawlinson v Danny Grewcock. Actually the clash between Steve Borthwick and Craig Gillies deserves a mention as well for its physicality, but watching Rawlinson and Grewcock - neither strangers to a bit of biffo - get stuck into each other might be fun for the strong-hearted.
Form: Bath's Premiership campaign, after that incredible display against Saracens, anti-climaxed horribly with defeat to Gloucester and Wasps. But prior to that, they'd been on a roll - including a 23-20 win at the home of Sunday's opposition. Worcester's Premiership culminated in a 51-10 win over Newcastle, following on from a 22-20 win at Bristol. They've also had a week off to freshen up.
Prediction: Just like Munster in 2006, there is a sense of inevitability about Bath's charge to the final of this one. Worcester may play to their best, but Bath will just have the will of the world on their side. Bath by six points.
The teams:
Bath: 15 Nick Abendanon, 14 Joe Maddock, 13 Alex Crockett, 12 Olly Barkley, 11 Matt Banahan, 10 Butch James, 9 Michael Claassens, 8 Daniel Browne, 7 Michael Lipman, 6 Jonny Faamatuainu, 5 Danny Grewcock, 4 Steve Borthwick, 3 Matt Stevens, 2 Lee Mears, 1 David Flatman.
Replacements: 16 Pieter Dixon, 17 Duncan Bell, 18 Peter Short, 19 Zak Feaunati, 20 Nick Walshe, 21 Shaun Berne, 22 Tom Cheeseman.
Worcester Warriors: 15 Thinus Delport, 14 Marcel Garvey, 13 Dale Rasmussen, 12 Sam Tuitupou, 11 Miles Benjamin, 10 Shane Drahm, 9 Matt Powell, 8 Kai Horstmann, 7 Pat Sanderson (c), 6 Drew Hickey, 5 Craig Gillies, 4 Greg Rawlinson, 3 Tevita Taumoepeau, 2 Aleki Lutui, 1 Tony Windo,
Replacements: 16 Chris Horsman, 17 Matt Mullan, 18 Will Bowley, 19 Netani Talei, 20 Ryan Powell, 21 Joe Carlisle, 22 Rico Gear
Date: Sunday May 25
Venue: Kingsholm
Kick-off: 12:00 BST (11:00 GMT)
Weather: rain, and a strong north-easterly wind
Referee: Christophe Berdos (France)
Touch Judges: Jerom Garces, Patrick Bellet (France)
TMO: Daniel Dartigeas (France)