Ford breakdown as Bath stumble again
GEORGE FORD endured a secondhalf horror show as Bath’s season lurched to the brink of crisis at a joyless Recreation Ground.
The England fly-half, controversially dropped by Stuart Lancaster midway through the World Cup, had his hopes of impressing new coach Eddie Jones dashed with an errorstrewn display behind a horribly misfiring Bath pack.
Ford threw a 47th-minute interception pass straight to Northampton centre Luther Burrell, as Bath suffered their ninth successive league defeat against Northampton — despite Semesa Rokoduguni’s 64th-minute try giving Mike Ford’s men a slender advantage.
Referee Craig Maxwell-Keys, who angered both sets of supporters in a game dominated by re-set scrums, awarded the visitors a penalty with seven minutes left, which fly-half JJ Hanrahan kicked from 45 metres in a gusting sidewind which made flowing rugby almost impossible.
The kick condemned Bath to their fourth Aviva Premiership defeat of the season and with back-to-back European Challenge Cup encounters against Bath to come, Ford’s position as director of rugby could soon begin to look shaky. ‘How frustrated am I on a scale of one to 10? Ten’ Ford said. We had the game under control and George gave an interception. Before that it was poor delivery from our lineout. The second thing I’m frustrated by is scrums — it’s just a lottery. Referees are refereeing scrums and they don’t know what’s going on. It’s ruining games. Referees are deciding who wins games.’
Ford’s decision not to substitute his son George took some comprehending. Wales international No10 Rhys Priestland made the briefest of appearances from the bench in the dying minutes, with centre Ollie Devoto making way instead of the out-of-sorts Ford.
The message that will send to the rest of Bath’s squad will only be fully understood in the weeks to come but one thing is for sure: multimillionaire owner Bruce Craig is not a man known for his patience.
Ford had the right to feel aggrieved by Maxwell-Keys’ handling of the set piece, although both sides made it at hard as they possibly could for the young referee to adjudicate.
Saints’ Kieran Brookes dominated his opposite man Nick Auterac in the first 40 minutes before Bath gained a foothold in the second half, after words had clearly been exchanged at half time.
But Bath’s problems run deeper than this woeful scrummaging display and there remain persistent doubts over their ability to switch their style of play in difficult weather conditions, despite an impressive showing from their eight against Leinster a fortnight ago.
A record crowd of 13,562 watched this turgid affair, which only truly sparked to life when Rockoduguni brushed Ben Foden aside with 16 minutes left to briefly put the home side in front before Hanrahan’s late penalty ensured Bath remain in lowly ninth place.
‘To win away from home at a place like this, you’ve just got to stick at it,’ said Saints director of rugby Jim Mallinder. ‘We’ve some very good young English lads and a couple of senior players in there helping.’