Monday 16 March 2009

Mine's a hog's head, please

What's the recipe for Bath Rugby to enjoy success this season? Well, head coach Steve Meehan is hoping it will be hot water and a hog roast. But having whetted your appetite, I'll return to that later.

Nothing other than a sound drubbing of Bristol would have been good enough for Bath Rugby at the weekend – and they didn't disappoint.

But although it was mission accomplished on Saturday, the chock-a-block fixture card facing Bath over the next three weeks means there is going to be little time to pause for breath.

Bath face something of a blitzkrieg of matches over the next three weeks – and squad management is going to be absolutely key if the side is to win any silverware this season.

The figures are the stuff of nightmares for strength and conditioning coaches: five games in 19 days, including a nasty run of Sale, Wasps and Harlequins in the space of just nine days.

Click here!

And there's no let up after that.

As soon as Bath come off their five-games-in-less-than- three-weeks treadmill, they face Leicester at The Walker's Stadium in the quarter-finals of the Heineken Cup.

So while most Guinness Premiership sides will enjoy the weekend off on April 11 and 12 before their final two matches of the regular season, Bath face what will inevitably be an extremely physical contest in the East Midlands.

It's going to be a demanding run-in for the men at The Rec, and the squad's depth and the players' stamina and focus will be put under stress.

So, are they up to it?

That brings me back to the hog roast and the hot water.

A congested schedule means something has to give on the training ground – and Meehan is already endeavouring to lighten the load for his players in midweek.

Following the win over Bristol, Meehan immediately announced he would be giving his players three days off, presumably mindful of the Herculean labours that await them over the next few weeks.

And after this Sunday's match, Meehan has further tricks up his sleeve in order to keep his men fresh. The squad will be heading to a certain popular city centre restaurant for a slap up meal involving plenty of pork, as well as taking to the rejuvenating waters of the Thermae Bath Spa for a relaxing dip.

Such touches are wise.

With so many big matches in such quick succession, it's crucial that Meehan enables his players to take their mind off rugby in between games and put their feet up.

Splashing about in the water could be just the tonic. Although, come to think of it, taking a dip at the spa might remind them of rugby after all – do you remember those conditions for the Toulouse game?

This is taken from my column in The Bath Chronicle. Click here for more.

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