https://rugbypreview.com/2018/09/12/harlequins-v-bath-rugby/Harlequins V Bath Rugby
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admin - September 12, 20180
Kick Off 15:00 Saturday 15th September, Live on BT Sport
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Harlequins welcome Bath to The Twickenham Stoop this Saturday and will look to add another home victory to their start to the season, whilst Bath are still searching for their first win of the campaign.
Harlequins came off second best in a scrappy affair away to Northampton last week and will look to make sure they don’t give away the same kind of penalties which ultimately cost them the game, despite scoring two tries to Saints one. The Quins bench did almost get them back into the game but the final whistle came just too soon for them. Saints targeted Quins at the breakdown and reaped the rewards and Bath will be keen to exploit this weakness further. One positive to come out of the game was the try saving tackle from Marcus Smith on Tom Collins who is proving he is developing his all round game at Fly Half and is not only an attacking threat. Paul Gustard was happy with his teams fighting spirit and will look to harness that energy from the kick off when they return to The Stoop against Bath.
Harlequins Player To Watch – Danny Care – The England Scrum Half needs little introduction as we know what a brilliantly creative 9 he is, but in this fixture particularly Care will look to use his pace to break from the fringes of the ruck and get over the line. Bath conceded 15 tries to Half Backs last season (only Gloucester conceded more) and last week Callum Braley was able to employ the same tactics to cross the line for Gloucesters third Try with the Bath Back Row too slow to reset from the previous phase. Care will know he will get opportunities in this game and will be eager to capitalise on them.
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Bath looked like they had no answers to Gloucesters attacking rugby in the opening 35 minutes which saw the visitors to The Rec notch up 3 tries with no reply, but eventually Bath found their feet and for the remainder of the game were impressive and were somewhat unlucky to only come away from that game with a draw. Harlequins will look to start fast and have plenty of attacking ability in their side, so Bath cannot afford to give Quins the same start they gave Gloucester. Garvey looks set to miss this game through injury with Elliot Stooke set to replace him who put in a great performance off the bench last week.
Bath Player To Watch – Sam Underhill – Bath are focusing on the speed at which they are able to win the ball back according to their coaches and the young England Openside Flanker is one of the best tacklers in the game and will play a key part in this game plan. Underhill is not just a tackling machine though, his work at the breakdown is improving with every game and it is here where rewards can be reaped, just as Northampton had done to Quins last week.
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Head To Head – Ben Tapuai v Jamie Roberts – The two Inside Centres swapped shirts over the summer and both will be keen to impress against their former employers. Both players are more suited to their new teams styles of rugby so we should see the best of them in this fixture, with Bath looking to be direct and use Roberts to break defensive lines with his powerful running and strength on the ball v Tapuai’s clever movement and distribution skills to create space and move the ball out wide. We’re siding with Ben Tapuai to get the upper hand in this contest.
Prediction – Harlequins are already up and running this season and have home advantage however Paul Gustard has seen two very different performances from his side so far and is probably not set on his best side and playing style just yet. Bath have been working on making small changes to their playing style and are yet to get a win this season but there are plenty of positive signs that the team are adapting and improving. We expect Quins to play an attacking game and Bath to use their defence to turn the ball over and counter attack and Quins could be exposed in this contest. Bath to win… Just!
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