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Bath's world-class back row is finally starting together for the first time in two years
Ahead of their Gallagher Premiership trip to Kingsholm to face local rivals Gloucester this Saturday, Bath director of rugby Stuart Hooper has been given the opportunity to name a combination he has never been able to before.
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In what is a strong squad to face the Cherry and Whites, Francois Louw, Sam Underhill and Taulupe Faletau will all play together in the back row for the first time in two years.
Incredibly, injuries have prevented all three from starting alongside one another for quite a while, despite this being the third season that have all been part of the squad.
Underhill moved to the Rec in 2017, which was roughly the beginning of a slew of injuries for Welshman Faletau, which included multiple knee injuries, two broken arms and recently a broken collarbone.
However, the No8 has now recovered from the injury that prevented him from making the World Cup, a tournament where his back row partners starred.
Underhill, Louw and Falefau ? finally get to see the back row every @bathrugby fans been dreaming of! ? https://t.co/lZ2SUuT9HS
— Jake Hobbs (@JakeHobbs7) January 3, 2020
https://twitter.com/AlfredTheVI/status/1213072452772925440?s=20
Is there a better back row in the world?
— lewis james (@lewis130703) January 3, 2020
That back row ?
— Hoddo (@Hoddo91) January 3, 2020
OH MY!
May I introduce a world XV back row!#COYB
?????#WeAreBath https://t.co/UG080P8I2E— Maximus The Lion (@maximusthelion) January 3, 2020
Louw was part of the Springboks squad which lifted the Webb Ellis Cup, while Underhill formed one of the tournament’s most exciting back rows, labelled the ‘Kamikazee Kids’, alongside Tom Curry.
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The South African’s expertise at the breakdown, married with Underhill’s resolute defence and Faletau’s ball-carrying, helps make one of the most dangerous and well rounded trios in England.
That back row, finally!!! ??? https://t.co/Rk1dzR5KgA
— Shaun Potter (@Shaun_Potts_) January 3, 2020
Louw, Underhill & Faletau ? finally https://t.co/ANKEzzVnSv
— Harry Morgan (@harrymorg5) January 3, 2020
For one game, and one game only, ARE YOU READY FOR FALLOUWHILL? @RugbyPodcast https://t.co/T3dYAQMwe1
— Loz Ageless (@meanenglishman) January 3, 2020
Fans are hailing this back row as world class, which is justified and a reason to be excited for the rest of the season.
Both flankers come from fantastic RWCs, and while Faletau may be working his way back to form in only his second game back, his reputation precedes him as one of the premier No8s in the world.
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This promising partnership at the back of the scrum also comes at a time where Bath are building some momentum after a troubling start to the season.
Two wins on the bounce mean Hooper’s side sit in fifth in the Gallagher Premiership, and a win would mean they leapfrog their bitter rivals and could end the weekend in the top four.
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Comments on RugbyPass
Why cant I watch Rugby games please?
1 Go to commentsBeautiful shot from Finau, end of story. Gutted for Shaun Stevenson though.
4 Go to commentsThe Chiefs definitely didn’t win ugly. They had the superior scrum, a dominant lineout, and their defence was excellent once the Waratahs scored their two tries (thanks to some lucky refereeing calls mind you). They put pressure on the Waratahs lineout throughout the game, and the mind boggles as to why the referee did not award a yellow card or a penalty try against the Waratahs for repeated scrum infringements on their own try line before Narawa’s first try. And the Chiefs were slick with their passing and running angles on attack. It was a dominant performance all round, even with many questionable refereeing decisions.
1 Go to commentsWasnt late. Ref 2 assistants andTMO all saw it so who are you to say it was?
4 Go to commentsAre the Brumbies playing the Blues twice in a row?
4 Go to commentsBig difference from the Saders. Forwards really muscled up and laid a solid platform. Scooter brought some steel and I liked the loosie combination. Newell has been rather disappointing this season but stepped up big time - happy also to see Franks dot down. He should do that more often! Reihana had a good game and there seems to be more flair and invention with him in the saddle. McNicoll plays well from the back and is reliable plus inventive when he joins the line. Keep it up chaps!
3 Go to comments🤦♂️🤣 who cares who’s the best . All I know is the All Blacks have the star coach but have few star players now …
30 Go to commentsJe suis sûr que Farrell est impatient de jouer avec Lopez et Machenaud et d’être entraîné par Collazo… 🤭
1 Go to commentsAn on field red (aka a full red) in SRP must surely carry a bigger suspension than a red card given by the bunker as that carries a 20 minute team punishment. Had Damon Murphy abdicated his responsibility as a ref and issued both Drua players a yellow, which would have been upgraded to a 20 minute red by the bunker, that would have killed Australia and New Zealand’s push for the 20 minute red to be trialled globally from July this year.
11 Go to commentsEver so often you all post a Danny Care story that isn’t the announcement that he has finally re-signed for one more, victory tour season at Quins and I’m just like, “well you fooled me again!” My absolute favorite player ever, we need to make his final year at the Stoop (and Twickers) official already. I know he supposedly snubbed France but I won’t feel better until he signs.
1 Go to commentslate hit what late hit it wasn’t at all late and can clearly see he was committed before the tackle
4 Go to commentsChristian Lio -Willies 2 try perfomance was a standout. As was captain Scott Barrett. Up front was where the boys won it.They are a great team and players. Fantastic Crusaders , you can keep going.
3 Go to commentsI don't know how the locals feel about that? I guess if you call yourselves the Worcester Wasps that might be appease. But really we need more teams in the Premiership in my view so they are not padding it out as they are at the moment. It might curtail so many players going abroad as well
5 Go to commentsNZ 😭😭😭is certainly rivaling England for best whingers cup!😭😭😭 !!!
30 Go to commentsYup. New Zealand won 3 out of 10 world cups played. SA 4 out of 8 attempts 30 Vs 50 per cent.🤔🤔
30 Go to commentsShould've done this years ago. Change Saturday kick off times to around 11am. Up and off and back home before 3pm, limit travel time too. Allows players to actually do something else with their Saturday that's family oriented or being rugby fans they could ‘watch’ pro rugby. Increases crowds etc. How can anyone that enjoys grassroots and pro rugby have to choose between the two on Saturdays?
9 Go to commentsI bet he inspired those supporters just as much.
1 Go to commentsBen Smith Springboks living rent free in his head 😊😂
67 Go to commentsGood to hear he would like to play the game at the highest level, I hadn’t been to sure how much of a motivator that was before now. Sadly he’s probably chosen the rugby club to go to. Try not to worry about all the input about how you should play rugby Joey and just try to emulate what you do on the league field and have fun. You’ll limit your game too much (well not really because he’s a standard athlete like SBW and he’ll still have enough) if you’re trying to make sure you can recycle the ball back etc. On the other hard, you can totally just try and recycle by looking to offload any and everywhere if you’re going to ground 😋
1 Go to commentsThis just proves that theres always a stat and a metric to use to justify your abilities and your success. Ben did it last week by creating an imaginary competition and now you did the same to counter his argument and espouse a new yardstick for success. Why not just use the current one and lets say the Boks have won 4 world cups making them the most successful world cup team. Outside of the world cup the All Blacks are the most successful team winning countless rugby championships and dominating the rankings with high win percentages. Over the last 4 years statistically the Irish are the best having the highest win rate and also having positive records against every tier 1 side. The most successful Northern team in the game has been England with a world cup title and the most six nations titles in history. The AB’s are the most dominant team in history with the highest win rate and 3 world cups. Lets not try to reinvent the wheel. Just be honest about the actual stats and what each team has been good at doing and that will be enough to define their level of success.
30 Go to comments