Saturday 11 October 2014 09:25, UK
After a week dominated by off-field headlines, Wasps entertain Bath at Adams Park with both sides making a final Aviva Premiership appearance before attention averts to European matters.
With Wasps, who dropped their London tag during the summer, having their move to Coventry’s Ricoh Arena confirmed during the week the club has come under intense scrutiny, not least from disgruntled supporters who would face a three-hour round trip to their new venue.
For now, though, Wasps remain at Adams Park and it is their current Wycombe residency which plays host to Sunday’s lone Premiership fixture, which holds added significance.
Dai Young and Mike Ford will both be desperate to claim victory and take momentum into their first taste of European Champions Cup action next weekend. As for the players, the England contingent in action will be out to impress head coach Stuart Lancaster, who names his autumn internationals squad on October 22.
Fresh from claiming September’s Premiership Rugby Player of the Month accolade, Kyle Eastmond will resume his formidable partnership with Jonathan Joseph in the Bath midfield, while there is a welcome return for England winger Anthony Watson.
Watson featured in Bath United’s A-League match on Monday and makes his comeback opposite one of this season’s breakthrough acts, Semesa Rokoduguni, in the only change to Ford’s side.
"The backs have played well but what is griping me is that our pack have been fantastic as well," Ford told Premiership Rugby.
"They have delivered massively with the platform for the kids behind the pack to play well.
"So yes JJ, Kyle and Roko might be scoring the tries but it's these guys up front that have won us good ball, won us penalties, a fantastic scrum and defensively very good.”
Meanwhile, Young has England internationals James Haskell and Joe Launchbury back at his disposal and Welsh lock Bradley Davies is set for his first start.
Young hopes a return to action will mean attention can return to rugby matters, rather than being diverted to their change of venue.
“It has understandably been a busy week all round, but the focus now is fully on the rugby and facing Bath this weekend,” he told the club’s official site.
“I appreciate it has been an emotional week for many supporters, but I hope we can all channel those emotions into supporting the team on the field.
“We were disappointed with last weekend’s performance against Sale and know there are many areas we need to improve on today against Bath, who are one of the best sides in the Aviva Premiership, currently sitting second in the table. We saw how strong they were against Saracens last weekend so we will need to be on top of our game on Sunday.”
Wasps: 15 Andrea Masi, 14 Christian Wade, 13 Elliot Daly, 12 Alapati Leiua, 11 Salosi Tagicakibau; 10 Andy Goode, 9 Joe Simpson; 1 Matt Mullan, 2 Carlo Festuccia, 3 Lorenzo Cittadini, 4 Joe Launchbury, 5 Bradley Davies, 6 Ashley Johnson, 7 James Haskell (capt), 8 Nathan Hughes
Replacements: 16 Tom Lindsay, 17 John Yapp, 18 Jake Cooper-Woolley, 19 James Gaskell, 20 Sam Jones, 21 Charlie Davies, 22 Rob Millar, 23 Chris Bell
Bath: 15 Gavin Henson, 14 Semesa Rokoduguni, 13 Jonathan Joseph, 12 Kyle Eastmond, 11 Anthony Watson; 10 George Ford, 9 Chris Cook; 1 Paul James, 2 Rob Webber, 3 David Wilson, 4 Stuart Hooper (capt), 5 Dave Attwood, 6 Alafoti Fa’osiliva, 7 Guy Mercer, 8 Leroy Houston
Replacements: 16 Ross Batty, 17 Nick Auterac, 18 Henry Thomas, 19 Dominic Day, 20 David Sisi, 21 Micky Young, 22 Ollie Devoto, 23 Olly Woodburn
