Bath BIG signing! DEALS OFF.....OR IS IT????????

The rumour is that they will be a back possibley a 12 or 13.

I heard it might be Nonu but that is a long shot IMO.


Watch this space.



NEWSFLASH......

Looks like Ollies gone, could this mean the deal is back on?

How many of Bath's big signings have turned out well?

Ummm?

HERSH wrote:Ummm?

Did ummm, sign for you? I always had him down as a loyal Connacht man

Is Matt Smith,Manu Tuilagi or Anthony Allen off to Bath?

Matt Smith is the only possibility out of three of them and he is still a) too young (25) and b) hasn't had a career threatening injury yet. Maybe in two or three years time.

Good point Sam.

How about Tait then? Though he's still a bit young for the Bath selection criteria. Still he definitely fits the b) category.

Great. 1 signed. Only 19 more to go and you'll have a decent outfit.

Good luck.

Sorry, I forgot the

Could well be Cameron Shepherd.

Could well be Beshocked. Would be just like Bath to sign another 15 and trust in Barkley to a) be fit for the entire season and b) not bottle it in any games that actually matter.

If Tait doesn't make a return to fitness and form this season he will definitely be at Bath next season.

It's going to be Graeme Morrison. He is a big 12.

Mike Tindall

Small clubs make big signings. Big clubs produce their own stars. Its a long time since bath produced a player of note.

HERSH wrote:The rumour is that they will be a back possibley a 12 or 13.

I heard it might be Nonu but that is a long shot IMO.


Watch this space.

Henson

Mo Farah.

Don't deny that you'd be surprised.

Jamie Noon...

Has Matt banahan re-signed? Hes big.....

On a serious note...shouldnt bath be really working on their pack?

GF they've already signed a new loosehead, hooker, and second row. The centres are looking a touch on the bare side given the injury records of Barkley and Hipkiss with only Vesty and their academy graduate left as centre options (unless Banahan goes into the centres again).

They probably need a backrower and a centre.

Big named signing...

Could it be the Glasgow player Daniel Tailliferrer Hauman van der Merwe

cp10 wrote:Big named signing...

Could it be the Glasgow player Daniel Tailliferrer Hauman van der Merwe

formerly known as Sam wrote:

They probably need a backrower and a centre.

That'll be McCaw and SBW then

I would have took Henson.

On his day he is world class

HERSH wrote:I would have took Henson.

On his day he is world class

He is unplayable on his day, apparently.

HKC I know Bath are heavilly relient on their rich owner but even he would be stretched to pay for SBW for any length of time. Isn't his Japanese contract something like a million dollars for 12 games! McCaw will never leave NZ.

I did wonder whether they'd try to tempt Bergamasco away from Italy after the Arioni mess, Wasps managed to convince Masi to come across to England after all (another player who would have been great for Bath).

formerly known as Sam wrote:HKC I know Bath are heavilly relient on their rich owner but even he would be stretched to pay for SBW for any length of time. Isn't his Japanese contract something like a million dollars for 12 games! McCaw will never leave NZ.

But Bath have made the world stand up and take notice with the signing of Stephen Donald, so luring McCaw and SBW should be a doddle for Ernst Blofeld

You may laugh at Donald but I think this will be his year, watched him play for the Baa baas and he looked like a different player hopefully the new coaches will bring the best out in him unlike that shower of Poopie SIM.

Yeah, unlike that legendary coach you had last year who managed to get your 19 year old fly half ticking along nicely at AP level. Donald was just poor last year, there's no way to get around the fact he was just not good enough. Whether that was a fitness thing what with his injuries and lack of a pre season I don't know. Maybe he's just not cut out for the physicality of the AP.

HERSH wrote: You may laugh at Donald

Oh I do!!

There is nothing legendary about SIM , even HKC will agree with me about that one.

HERSH wrote:There is nothing legendary about SIM , even HKC will agree with me about that one.

Au contraire HERSH, I feel what SIM has done at Bath to be the epitome of legendary

Seriously, there is no doubt he will go down as one of the greatest ever coaches, but his Bath jaunt will probably be ignored when making that statement... unless of course you're from Gloucester and in which case it makes his stock rise even more!

HERSH wrote:

Sorry HERSH couldn't resist it

formerly known as Sam wrote:GF they've already signed a new loosehead, hooker, and second row. The centres are looking a touch on the bare side given the injury records of Barkley and Hipkiss with only Vesty and their academy graduate left as centre options (unless Banahan goes into the centres again).

They probably need a backrower and a centre.

Who are they Sam?

Paul James - Loosehead - Ospreys
Rob Webber - Hooker - Wasps
Dom Day - Lock - Scarlets

Of course i forgot about Webber....will make a difference over Mears...who ive never been a fan of.

Will the others make a difference? Dont know much about them...

I don't know a great deal about Day, seen him play a couple of times, a loosehead on the edge of the Welsh selection and alright in the lineout. Could be a good partner for Attwood. James is an experienced Welsh international and has been the Ospreys loosehead of choice for a number of years, he'll add some steel to the Bath front row.

Bath pack to look something like:

1.James
2.Webber
3.Wilson
4.Attwood
5.Day
6.Fearns
7.Louw
8.Taylor

Personally I think they'd be better getting in another flanker and moving Fearns to 8 as Taylor is way past his best and one of the worst starting 8s in the league. A proper 7 to allow Louw to concentrate on carrying would probably be their best bet, moving Louw to 6 should free him up a bit as currently he seems to be tied in to close to the breakdowns where his carrying skills aren't easy to utilise.

GeordieFalcon wrote:Of course i forgot about Webber....will make a difference over Mears...who ive never been a fan of.

Will the others make a difference? Dont know much about them...

Paul James is a very good scrummaging prop, can play both sides.

Dom Day is hit and miss, last season he was unfortunate not to get a welsh call up (when there were lots of lock injured/banned). I think he is EQ so maybe he will try to win a lock shirt for you lot instead.

formerly known as Sam wrote:How many of Bath's big signings have turned out well?

Depends what you mean by big name.

Frans Louw has been a revelation, as was Luke Watson before him
Butch was quality
Classens has been great
You keep telling me that Agulla is going to be amazing

Small name signings that turned out to be great
Salvi, Maddock, Lipman, Carraro

Poor signings so far
Moody
Donald
Hipkiss

Ones I think will prove to be good investments with time
Attwood, James, Webber, Eastmond

All in all, not that bad really. Just recruited in the wrong areas probably. Haven't sorted out front 5 set piece since Borthwick, Belly, Barnes etc left

beshocked wrote:Is Matt Smith,Manu Tuilagi or Anthony Allen off to Bath? ;)

Would be more than happy with any of those!

HERSH wrote:I would have took Henson.

On his day he is world class :whistle:

Oh HERSH, just when I thought that you couldn't make our club look anymore silly!

Bathite wrote:

formerly known as Sam wrote:How many of Bath's big signings have turned out well?

Depends what you mean by big name.

Frans Louw has been a revelation, as was Luke Watson before him
Butch was quality
Classens has been great
You keep telling me that Agulla is going to be amazing

Small name signings that turned out to be great
Salvi, Maddock, Lipman, Carraro

Poor signings so far
Moody
Donald
Hipkiss

Ones I think will prove to be good investments with time
Attwood, James, Webber, Eastmond

All in all, not that bad really. Just recruited in the wrong areas probably. Haven't sorted out front 5 set piece since Borthwick, Belly, Barnes etc left

How is caldwell doing at bath? I thought he played well against leinster in the aviva last november.

Caldwell doing really well, really impressed by him. One of our best players last year. That's not saying much, but still, he was great. None of these disciplinary problems we had heard all about. Played a lot of minutes for us, really consistent, great carrying and tackling

Depends what you mean by big name.

Frans Louw has been a revelation, as was Luke Watson before him
Butch was quality
Classens has been great
You keep telling me that Agulla is going to be amazing

Agulla will be amazing, when he's available, which will be sometime in December onwards.
Classens has been a solid signing for you guys.
Butch was an overrated thug in my (and most other Tigers fans) opinion.
Louw is a good signing but badly needs some other half decent backrowers around him on a regular basis.
Watson was somewhere between Louw and Butch James. He was good but a little overrated and prone to trying to have a fight the second he was out classed (which happened every other game). If he had a better temprement I'd rate him more.

It's not that Bath have really signed bad players, it's more that they've had the issue of signing a big names and putting all their eggs in to few baskets. Spreading the wage budget over more players (smaller names) would have given them more depth and better consistentcy.

My moneys on a SA player

Cameron Shepard and Cornie Uys have both gone to Sale so they won't be signing for Bath.

It's coming, stay calm, be patient

HERSH your starting to sound desperate.

Wouldn't you be if you were faced with another season of Simon Taylor as a starting backrower!

formerly known as Sam wrote:Wouldn't you be if you were faced with another season of Simon Taylor as a starting backrower!

He isn't. When fit, our starting backrow would be:
6 - Louw
7 - Mercer
8 - Fearns