Nemani Nadolo can't get his head around criticism of 11-try Bath vs Wasps thriller

6:51am, 09 January 2021

By Liam Heagney

Also by Liam Heagney

(Photo by Michael Steele/Getty Images)

6:51am, 09 January 2021

Fiji winger Nemani Nadolo has been bemused by the level of negative reaction to Friday night’s eleven-try Gallagher Premiership thriller between Bath and Wasps at The Rec.

Northern hemisphere rugby has come in for much criticism over the European winter, with many writing off tournaments like the Autumn Nations Cup and the Premiership as generally dull and boring due to dominant defences.

However, after the Bath and Wasps rearguards were torn asunder, there was much commentary online regarding how ‘poor’ the respective defences were rather than enjoyment of the attacking rugby that was provided.

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The reaction left Nadolo confused and the Leicester winger shared his thoughts on Twitter following the Premiership game at The Rec which was won by Wasps on a 52-44 scoreline.

“Fans complaining about how defence is killing the game and how boring rugby is becoming. We have one game (in the northern hemisphere) where attacking rugby is on show (which mind you was a pleasure to watch) and the first thing people point out is defence.”

Fans complaining about how defense is killing the game and how boring rugby is becoming. We have a one game (in the northern hemisphere) where attacking rugby is on show (which mind u was a pleasure to watch) and the first thing people point out is defense. ?????? #batvswas
— nemzy (@nemani_nadolo) January 8, 2021

The 44 points scored by Bath was the second highest by a losing side in the history of the Premiership, three points shy of the mark set by Bristol when they were beaten 47-53 by Sale in an April 2002 top-flight game. Both coaches were critical of their teams in the aftermath of the 96 points that were seen at The Rec on Friday.

Wasps boss Lee Blackett said: “I’m absolutely delighted with the result. In terms of the performance, I thought we were a bit off. People were probably expecting a 10-8 scoreline on a cold January night here, and it was probably two very tired teams coming off big games last weekend.”

Bath boss Stuart Hooper added: “Their [Wasps’] conversion rate was bang-on when they got in the final third. Some of it was sloppy from us and we have got to do better. There is nowhere to hide from that. We are massively disappointed and hurt with the result and conceding that many points at home. I’m definitely frustrated with how sloppy we were on occasions.”

Odogwu clocked up 142 metres on his seven carries, making four clean breaks and beating five defenders in a match where he scored tries on 48 and 54 minutes…#GallagherPrem #BATvWAS https://t.co/qYmmM0bSZ8
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) January 9, 2021

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