Head Coach Jonathan Thomas spoke to the media today ahead of Sunday’s Gallagher Premiership match against Bath Rugby at The Rec (kick-off 3.00pm).
Here’s what Jonathan had to say:
Do you expect the Bath game to go ahead?
- They have had a couple of games called off because of COVID-19. But it’s a similar situation to Saracens two weeks ago. They will have had players isolating but they will have come out of isolation by Sunday and be ready to play.
- We expect the game to go ahead as scheduled and we are planning to play on Sunday.
- We are in reasonable shape with COVID. This week we decided to PCR test all the players and playing staff on Monday in addition to their usual lateral flow tests.
- We didn’t need to do that but we wanted to be vigilant with people coming back in having been away over Christmas and New Year.
- We’ve returned two positive tests on the playing side but because those two individuals had not mixed with the wider group they have not infected the rest of the group.
Are you surprised that Bath are still seeking their first win of the season?
- We can relate to the situation they are in because we were in that situation last year.
- There are such fine margins in this competition. Bath are not a bad team and they have not got bad coaches. They have got some very good players in their squad and The Rec is always a tough place to go to.
- They are in a difficult spot but professional sport is all about the top two inches and a little bit of confidence and Bath haven’t had that.
- Sometimes when you are in this situation as a coach you do all you can to get the group out of it and sometimes it becomes more about desire, want and emotion and we know that we are going to face that on Sunday.
- We know that Warriors have never won at The Rec so Bath will see this as an opportunity.
- But we are highly motivated for this game. We were particularly disappointed with our first half performance at Saracens but there is a lot of good stuff going on in our game.
- We have scored 30 tries already this season which the most Warriors have ever scored in the Premiership at this point in a season.
- There have been some very clear improvements in our game this season particularly around our set piece, our line-out, our maul defence, our contact area, our ball retention and our off-loading. We scored five tries at Saracens and it should have been seven which is no mean feat away from home but we are conceding too many points.
- We know Bath have some good attacking players. The challenge is going to be very different.
- It’s an old-school pitch at The Rec. There is rain forecast on Saturday but it’s dry on Sunday.
- We know this game is almost going to be like cup rugby with two teams who are keen to win the game, both emotionally up for it and a big crowd in and we are looking forward to it.
Does the pitch at The Rec impact on your selection?
- It impacts on the selection of footwear and the need for longer studs.
- We normally train on our 3g pitch but this week we have been training on the grass pitch we have at Sixways in preparation for Sunday.
- Rain is forecast for Saturday so we are not expecting it to be the firmest surface at The Rec.
Any indication on whether the forthcoming EPCR Challenge Cup match against Toulon will go ahead?
- As things stand we expect the game to go ahead.
- As a club we were disappointed that the Biarritz match wasn’t played because we were excited to have our two home group
- matches against them and Toulon.
- It’s critical that EPCR think carefully about the decisions they make around fixtures that are cancelled or postponed.
- The Challenge Cup is a competition that we want to progress in and a competition that we value greatly.
- If we were to miss a second home game it would adversely impact us not only financially but also on our chances of progressing in the competition, as you normally back yourself to win your home games.
- So the choices that EPCR make are important and the consequences, not just for the two European competitions, but for each individual club are huge.
Do you have any explanation why Warriors have gone 16 months without an away win?
- Belief is the key word. As to why we haven’t won away there are a lot of factors. There has been a lot of change at the club in the past 18 months with a lot of new players and members of staff and we have also had injuries to senior players.
- We would love to change the narrative. Where we are at in terms of the evolution of this team it’s important that we win our home games. To progress to become a top six side you have got to win on the road.
- How do we do that? You put yourself in those situations and you learn from your mistakes.
- We showed in difficult circumstances in two games at Newcastle before Christmas that we can go away from home and perform. It’s about mindset and belief.
- You sometimes have to go through those experiences with a young group for them to learn, to grow and ultimately thrive in those environments.
Injuries
- Melani Nanai suffered a knee injury shortly after he came off the bench at Saracens. The early indications are that is an anterior cruciate ligament injury and it could be season ending. You have to feel for Melani because he has already had a number of injury challenges to overcome.
- Rory Sutherland has recovered from his dead leg and should be available for selection this weekend.
- Ollie Lawrence, Owen Williams and Willi Heinz are all around two weeks away.