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The Bath Rugby Column: Confidence Is Key
Times are tough at the moment for Bath Rugby, and every fan who braved monsoon like weather conditions to get to the Rec on Friday soon realised it. Total Sport attempts to weigh up the situation, citing confidence as the pivotal factor...
As Gok Wan used to say, it's all about the confidence. Although he was probably discussing clothing at the time, its something that is key in sport. A point currently being proven by Leicester City in the Barclays Premier League. Leicester haven't spent ridiculous sums of money to get where they are however through teamwork, a few star players and the confidence to take on any team in the league, regardless of their status, they have ended up top of the table.
Last season Bath Rugby had confidence by the bucket load, a team not afraid to take on sides like Leicester, Saracens and Harlequins. By the time the Rec was basked in sunshine in late April and May its players were cutting open defences with devastating precision and finishing chances off in an incredibly clinical fashion.
What a difference a few months make. Bath are now lying 9th in the table, with a 27 point gap between themselves and league leaders Saracens. Now I'm not even going to attempt to try and dissect the season Bath are currently having, as there are so many potential reasons why the west country club are languishing near the bottom of the Aviva Premiership table. Ultimately it seems like a melting pot of a variety of different factors, all resulting in poor form.
A West Country derby is always a game of epic proportions however this time around it felt like it held even more importance due to Bath’s league standing. It was a game the club needed to win and you could see the pressure affecting the team throughout the game. Scared to make a mis-take, both teams decided to kick the ball a large proportion of the time. However when it came to keeping their heads as everything around them was becoming increasingly frantic, Gloucester triumphed.
Although there is polarised opinion amongst Bath fans as to what might have gone wrong up at Farleigh, many have noticed some in the team appearing to play with their heads down. Whilst watching on TV, body language is easily recognisable and similar things have been said about Bath by pundits and presenters.
On Twitter, Martin (@seeksbettername) says: “Obvious that they have tightened and simplified their game, but just such little confidence and poor execution”.
Similarly Sarah (@sarahjwhite3) asked the question: “Do we do a good job of giving confidence to players who are not deemed as first choice for them to play naturally?”
In the final 20 minutes of the game you could feel the tension on the terrace, as fans watched their side play out a game they should have put to bed much earlier on. Players didn't want to make the mistake that could ultimately lose them the match. In attack things haven't really been going Bath’s way, although they may be creating chances they lack that clinical edge that was so ruthless last season. Confidence is of course a massive when it comes to a teams willingness to attack.
Inevitably as things get more cagey and players are increasingly afraid to make mistakes, the opposition team gets more of the ball. This ultimately results in more pressure on the defence as the opposition team continues to attack. Which is bound to result in an rising number of penalties, again something that undid Bath under the Friday night lights against Gloucester.
Due to a number of close games that Bath have ended up losing, they appear to have lost confidence in their own abilities. Although all players know they are incredibly capable, they still appear hesitant to try new things. An increasing pressure from fans and pundits to pull results out of the bag means that if a player does make a mistake, they know they could be chastised for it.
Many seem to have forgotten the rough patch of form Bath hit as the Six Nations began last year and how they were only narrowly beating teams such as Newcastle and Sale. Confidence at that stage in the season was relatively low, with many questioning Bath’s title credentials. However as they narrowly beat sides both confidence returned with Bath’s England contingent bringing refreshed enthusiasm and their own impetus to proceedings.
Bath need to scrape a few wins from somewhere, they appeared to be turning a corner with narrow losses to Toulon and Saracens however they are now starting to labelled as a side that cant finish what they started. A promising first half led to a nervy and ultimately disappointing second. Both the coaching team and fans need to encourage the players for their endeavour and recognise the fact that some things aren't always going to come off.
The club need to rediscover their confidence and if this is through playing attritional rugby then so be it. The pack and set piece has clearly regained their dominance, after consistently being on top against Gloucester. Similarly to Eddie Jones’ England, Bath just need to win.
On Twitter, Bath supporter Ben (@krelaben) said: “I think we need to go back to basics. Play the grind and territory game and forget about decision making for now”.
Once they start winning, that confidence will return to the team and more open and impressive per-formances will emerge. Although confidence isn't the only factor to Bath’s current slump in form it is a big reason and through the fans showing their support, the coaching staff allowing them play with the ball in hand and a few attritional wins, confidence will return.
You can follow the author Stephen on Twitter here.
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