Rugby Supernova

To say that Semesa Rokoduguni has had an impact on the Premiership since joining Bath in the 2012/13 season would be an understatement! At the end of last season, he topped the charts for defenders beaten and metres gained - and not surprisingly, he was Bath's top try scorer, crossing the line ten times. He is without a doubt one of the most potent finishers in the league, and has a rare natural ability to conjure something out of nothing. The first of his two match-winning tries against Saracens last Saturday were evidence of that talent. To side-step and break through the Saracens defence from the position he was in, with the number of defenders in front of him, was pure genius. I'm not sure how many other players in the league could do that, save for perhaps Christian Wade. Yet this wasn't just a one-off fluke, as time and time again last season he managed to finish from the tightest of angles - his scores against Northampton at The Rec, away against Newcastle and anothe

Let's throw it back to Eden Park in 1994, to the second test between New Zealand and France. With the visitors having won the first game in Christchurch, they found themselves trailing behind while entering the final stages of the match. Cue that unmistakable French flair, as Philippe Saint-Andre launched a counter attack from his own 22, a series of brilliant passes and running lines between backs and forwards ensued.  Full back Jean-Luc Sadourny finished off one of the greatest length of the field scores; 'the try from the end of the world' claimed a memorable test series victory for the French and a rare loss at Eden Park for the All Blacks. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jTwTi-UeQ7s 'Rare' is indeed the key word as the All Blacks have not lost at Eden Park since, and despite the Lions best efforts on Saturday morning, their impressive 23 year record still stands. Though it looked like the unbeaten record would be ended almost as identically as it began, wit

So the stage was set: after months and months of debate and speculation about the squad selection, the first tour game was finally upon us. For the next six weeks, lazy Saturday morning lie-ins will be replaced with the scent of early morning coffee and the sounds of sizzling bacon. Akin to the excitement of young children on Christmas morning, Lions fans across Britain and Ireland rose early in anticipation.  The 2017 opening party was due to be a simple stroll in the park for the visitors against a bunch of fringe Super Rugby players; the New Zealand Provincial Barbarians had been thrown together just seven days before, it was forecast to be a gentle game to ease the Lions into the tour. In contrast to our expectations, the tone was set right from the first whistle, as opposing fly-half Bryn Gatland chipped a short low kick towards Iain Henderson who miss-timed his jump, and the ball landed straight into winger Sevu Reece's hands. Fortunately for the Lions, no points were conce

With places at the Premiership's showpiece final at stake, the Aviva semi-finals promised to be epic encounters and they certainly didn't fail to disappoint. Exeter v Saracens, Sandy Park Fresh from their Champions Cup final heroics in Edinburgh, Saracens arrived as back to back European champions and full of confidence. They faced an Exeter side who had secured eight successive bonus point victories and had only lost twice at Sandy Park all season. It wasn't a surprise therefore that the opening half was an extremely tight affair, with both sides not giving an inch. Saracens were struck with early injury blows to Michael Rhodes and prolific try scorer Chris Ashton. This didn't seem to affect the London side as they built an early 6-0 lead through two Owen Farrell penalties. In contrast to this, the Chiefs turned down kicks at goal and instead opted for the corner; not surprising, considering how difficult goal kicking is in the now infamous Sandy Park winds. Sara

It was Ireland versus Wales in the Pro 12 semi finals; tough assignments awaited both the Scarlets and the Ospreys, as they traveled across the Irish Sea to face Leinster and Munster. Leinster v Scarlets, RDS, Dublin The weekend's games kicked off in Dublin on Friday night, as the Scarlets were bidding to become the first side to win an away Pro 12 semi final. It was a tall order for the men from Llanelli, against a Leinster side bang in form and boasting many British & Irish Lions, and they wouldn't have been helped by injures to their key players Jake Ball and Ken Owens. Things started ominously for the Scarlets, as Leinster began to string dangerous phases of play together in the opening exchanges. Yet there's a reason Wayne Privac's men have made it to the knock out phases, and this was personified by winger Steff Evans - he was the heartbeat of everything the Scarlets did in the first half. It was fitting that he touched down for the first score, after cl

So that's a wrap, another Aviva Premiership campaign draws to a close for Bath Rugby. With the stands already being disassembled at The Rec, now is the time to reflect on the achievements and disappointments of the season. The final 'scores on the doors' shows a 5th place finish in the league and a challenge cup semi final. The relative success or failure of these results all depends on the context with which you decide to place them. The glaringly obvious positive is the massive improvement on last season's woeful 9th placed finish - a season that held much promise following the Premiership Final appearance at the end of the preceding campaign. As it turned out, the whole Sam Burgess saga caused unrest in the camp and in the end the team battled it out in a relegation scrap. So by recording a 5th place finish this time around and just missing out on the play offs, the players and staff can be very pleased considering Todd Blackadder didn't even have a full pre-

So we can finally finish discussing, speculating and debating about what our preferred Lions squads will be and start turning our attention to what this exciting squad can achieve. As tour manager John Spencer read out the names of the chosen players, there were no huge surprises. Over a week has now passed and the players have had the chance to let it sink in; it's very much been back to business, turning out for their clubs as they chase European and domestic honours. What they will now have to cope with is the Lions tag every time they are announced on a team sheet, a certain aura will now surround them every time they take the field and their form is now under even further scrutiny. This is all part and parcel of being a British & Irish Lion, acknowledging the great privilege of being selected, but also living up to the expectation and performing. Sam Warburton was announced as captain for a 2nd successive tour Both England and Ireland dominated the squad numbers - a

The waiting is almost over as this Wednesday at midday the 2017 Lions Squad will be announced. Pundits, journalists and rugby fans will no longer be predicting their squads, but will be scrutinising the fortunate 37 players selected, and sympathising with those who missed out. As Gatland and his team finalise their touring party, it's likely that the majority of names will already be inked in after this weekend's final opportunity for players to stake their claim. But what exactly has been on Warren's tick box list, and what has he been looking for? First and foremast, he must select those who are playing well at this very moment in time. With the squad flying to New Zealand just a day after the Premiership and Pro 12 finals, there simply isn't the time for players to 'find their form'. Not only is form required, but experience and leadership is essential. As a result I'd expect Gatland to show faith in the guys who played a key part in the triumphant

'The Clash' at Twickenham. As a Bath supporter this has been over all over my social media feed and email content over the past 6 months. The Bath marketing department must have been given a sizeable budget from messrs Craig and Dyson to promote the club's first of five annual fixtures at HQ! It certainly paid off with 61,868 supporters packing out the home of English rugby on a glorious Spring day. There's been no love lost between Leicester and Bath over the years, especially in the early 90's when the two clubs dominated the English league, but recent times has seen the likes of Wasps and Saracens start to stretch away from the rest. That being said, this game certainly had a 'clash' written all over it, with just one league place between them and Leicester occupying the all important 4th play play off spot that Bath have occupied for most of the season. In the circumstances, many Bath supporters were right to worry about losing their 'home advantag

England versus New Zealand; the two top-ranked sides in world rugby going head to head, it's a battle that everyone wants to see, with the winner claiming the bragging rights as the world's best team! That was the chat from the RFU in the build up to the hotly anticipated England v Ireland clash last weekend, and rightly so? England were on the brink of setting a new world record of unbeaten games and winning consecutive grand slams, with master Eddie at the helm. The mighty All Blacks set the bench-mark for international rugby, they set the standard that every nation strives to achieve. It all made sense; the number one team should play number two, to see who comes out on top. The suited and booted executives at the RFU were already calculating the handsome profits they could create from this proposed 'Clash of the Titans' at Twickenham.  Except that they were looking too far ahead - England hadn't yet broken the world record or secured those back to back grand sla

It began with a humdinger of a test match on Friday night and ended with a quite dazzling attacking display on Saturday evening. England may have already won the championship with a week to spare, but they won't be resting on their laurels, as a much bigger prize awaits them in Dublin on Saturday. First of all, let's reflect on an incredibly intense match that we were treated to at the Principality Stadium. The pressure was heaped upon Wales, they were staring right in the face of a third successive Six Nations defeat, with the expectation of their passionate and patriotic supporters weighing more heavily on their shoulders than ever before.  With many questioning Rob Howley's credentials as head coach and calls for wholesale changes, the stage was set for a spectacular fall for this well-established side. This unchanged Welsh team repaid Howley's faith in them, by pulling out their best performance in recent memory. If anyone was wondering whether the game would li