Poetic Justice

This afternoon marks the first contest for top flight silverware of the domestic season as Bath take on the Exeter Chiefs in the Anglo-Welsh Cup. The anticipated clash has already been added extra spice followings its postponement due to the infamous ‘Beast from the East’ and the fact that the two sides met last week in the league. The game, which will be played at Kingsholm will feature two sides with very different histories. Bath will be chasing a well overdue return to their golden years of the 90s whilst the Devonians are enjoying the form of their lives. So, who wins when old meets new? I take a look at a few of the key battlegrounds and statistics that could shape the game’s outcome. THE 10s The battle at fly-half will surely shape the game’s outcome and its hard to get a more enticing duel in this competition than Freddie Burns against Joe Simmonds. Burns led Leicester to victory last season as he helped mastermind the Tigers win against the Chiefs and has continued his

RED ROSE RATINGS – ENGLAND 15 – 24 IRELAND                Date: 17 th March 2018                Location: Twickenham Stadium, London, England                Referee: Angus Gardner (Australia)                Attendance: 82,062 A third consecutive defeat meant England finished fifth, their lowest finish in the tournament for 35 years, whilst Ireland completed a historic Grand Slam. Eddie Jones will now have a lot of thinking to do as he and his team were comprehensively schooled throughout this year’s competition. The World Cup clock is ticking. 15 - Anthony Watson (Bath) – 4 Made a complete mess of Sexton’s high kick early in the first half which allowed Ringrose to score the game’s opening try. His day was cut short by a nasty looking injury, certainly one to forget for Watson. 14 – Johnny May (Leicester Tigers) – 6 Grabbed a try in the dying stages but it was too little too late as England faltered. Made one eye-catching break but was mostly quiet and overlook

RED ROSE RATINGS - FRANCE 22 - 16 ENGLAND                Date: 10 th March 2018                Location: Stade de France, Paris, France                Referee: Jaco Peyper (South Africa)                Attendance: 78,060 15 – Anthony Watson (Bath) – 5 Conceded a penalty try and a yellow card for what was an unintentional but equally illegal challenge on Benjamin Fall. Lacklustre in attack and showed no creativity, failed to be the attacking force that could have threatened France. 14 – Johnny May (Leicester Tigers) – 6 Grabbed another try courtesy of a wonderful Daly assist. Seemed to be the most eager and willing of England’s backline speedsters but opportunities and spaces were all too few. 13 – Ben Te’o (Worcester Warriors) – 6 Clearly asked to carry hard and run direct by Eddie Jones, which he did do, but to little effect. Couldn’t exercise his ability to break the line or find the perfect offloads making it a very quiet day’s work. 12 – Owen Farrell (Sa