Only the day before England’s new head coach Eddie Jones had been stressing that the “set-piece is king”, with England clearly having not paid it due respect during the Rugby World Cup, and here for Bath were two young props playing out of their skins.
Nick Auterac and Henry Thomas were quite magnificent as Bath destroyed most of the current Ireland pack at the scrummage, earning a second-half penalty try that proved vital in such a close contest.
The 24-year-old Thomas has already won seven England caps at tight-head, but it was the uncapped 23-year-old Auterac who really caught the eye with a compelling performance in the tight and loose.
Henry Thomas was outstanding for Bath
“He is a modern-day prop,” said head coach Mike Ford. “He scrummages, he tackles. If you see him do a fitness test we put him with the backs. He is that fit. Henry is the same type of player. As are Nathan Catt and Max Lahiff (who came on as more than able replacements). They are very mobile. They can all handle. We work on them catching and passing the football.”
If you also remember that Bath still have England tight-head David Wilson with them, you can see why Ford was salivating about the ‘live’ scrummaging sessions they have in training.
Bath's players in their post-match huddle after squeaking past Leinster Photo: REX
“Training sessions on a Tuesday at Farleigh House when we do our scrum sessions are pretty awesome,” he said. “We have got one world-class front row against one that is coming up and they are really pushing themselves to be better. Sometimes a team has a good first choice front row but not their second choice so they win in training all the time, but we have got six or seven very good front –rowers (with hookers Rob Webber and Ross Batty also impressing here).”
It was a view echoed by captain Stuart Hooper. “These guys work unbelievably hard,” he said. “They delivered today, their performance was outstanding. On the back of a dominant scrum you win tight games like that. Their week’s preparation, what you and the fans don’t see, was the best it has been and that comes out on the weekend.”
Bath were delighted with the win
With no disrespect to Hooper, who is an outstanding leader but is now 34 years old, just imagine what that scrummage will be like next season when Wales lock Luke Charteris joins from Racing 92 to pack down alongside Dave Attwood, who was also impressive here.
But for all of that scrummaging superiority it was a game they only just won here because of a late penalty from George Ford, a difficult kick in a tricky wind.
Matt Banahan was at fault for a disallowed Bath try
“You understand what type of kick it is to take a lead with three minutes to go,” said Ford junior. “But you just focus on the process. You are in your own little bubble as a goal kicker, you try and block everything out and just hit the ball like you do hundreds of times in training.”
In truth, though, while Ford should be praised for that, Bath’s fabled back-line is still not functioning as it might this season. But that is not to say that Ford senior is concerned about the 10/12 axis of his son and Kyle Eastmond. Indeed he was quick to praise Eastmond, who has endured a tough year since winning the last of his six England caps just over a year ago, missing out on the RWC squad.
Mike Ford was pleased with the win, but admitted there was room for improvement
“We love the way Kyle plays,” said Ford. “He didn’t go into his shell today, he played very ambitiously. He is vital for the way we want to play. I know he is small but you can’t question his defence. We are really pleased with where he is right now. He was disappointed to miss out on the World Cup. I think he wanted a crack with George, especially last autumn (when he only spent a few minutes at the end of the South Africa alongside Ford). I think that was the time to put them both together. He didn’t get that chance. He is in talks to sign a new three-year deal with us so he is not going anywhere.”
When Bath go to Toulon to play their postponed first round fixture is still under review, though. It will not be before Christmas for certain.
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