Is it telling that Steve Meehan - publicly at least - isn’t setting his side any long-term goals?
The Bath head coach was reluctant to say after the Scarlets game on Friday that his aim for the forthcoming season was to win the Guinness Premiership and the Heineken Cup. Instead, he explained that he wanted to see his players behave well on and off the pitch.
If that happened, he said, then he believed that Bath Rugby would be “there or thereabouts” come the end of the season.
Clearly, Meehan is playing down expectations.
Can we take it, then, that the Australian doesn’t expect to be bringing any silverware back to The Rec come May 2010?
Well. whatever Meehan’s private thoughts, his decision not to overstate his hopes for the forthcoming season is probably wise and, given the circumstances, appropriate.
After so many enforced changes, it would be rash indeed for any head coach to confidently assert that his side was about to sweep aside all before it.
And it would be even more rash when one considers the forbidding start that Bath have for their Premiership campaign.
Bath’s first five games see them take on Gloucester, Sale and Harlequins away and Wasps and Leicester at home. If that’s not a disconcerting start to the season, then I don’t know what is.
It’s made even more disconcerting when one considers the statistic that Bath have won just one of their last six away Premiership fixtures.
Meehan, however, is refusing to be daunted and is looking on the bright side. Get off to a flier against sides such as that, he reasons, then your set up nicely for the rest of the season.
But however much the Bath boss says he is relishing getting stuck into the Premiership titans, it’s going to be a big test - and one that could determine the course of Bath’s season.
As Wasps illustrated last season, get off to a poor start and - no matter how many big names you have in your squad - it’s mighty hard to build momentum and get yourselves back in contention.
If Bath are to be contenders this season, then they need to maintain the strong home form that turned The Rec into something of a fortress last term. A side that grabs four or five points from every home game and manages to steal the odd win when it’s on the road will never be far from contention.
A fit Bath side this season that fires anywhere close to all cylinders will be hard to beat. In the backs, a line-up of Claassens, James, Banahan, Barkley, Hape, Maddock and Abendanon will surely put the fear of God into any backline in Europe, threatening as it does with speed, boot and off-load.
But of course injury means that the dream line-up, until December at least, is off the cards. Bath’s success in the opening games of the season thus hinges on how Ryan Davis - backed up by Nicky Little - orchestrates things from fly-half and how trusty his sometimes wayward boot is. In James and Barkley’s absence, Bath will also have to find a settled centre partnership. I would suggest playing the guileful Shontayne Hape at 12 and the more direct Matt Carraro at 13.
In the pack, the front row looks formidable with the arrival of Davey Wilson and there’s plenty of depth at hooker for Bath to cope should Lee Mears have another busy year of international activity. And the second row - and the pack as a whole - will be boosted by the grit that a fit-again Danny Grewcock brings.
Once it truly gels, the Bath back row should also be dominant, but there are still some question marks over its effectiveness at the breakdown. It’s an area that’s getting a lot of attention on the Bath training paddock at the moment.
But should Bath get this area ticking and present quick ball for their backs, then you’d be churlish to bet against a top four finish.
Read more of Tom Bradshaw's Bath Chronicle columns
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