HAVING watched Bath detonate their chances of winning at Saracens last weekend by resting 13 players, it was poetic justice when they lost to Exeter at the Rec on Friday night.
The rationale for Bath devaluing the competitive currency of the Premiership by failing to field anything close to their strongest side was that it was in the club’s best interests to rest players – even if it meant ignoring the opportunity to test themselves against the champions.
As Bath’s director of rugby Todd Blackadder put it after his fourth placed team blew their chance in a 50-27 drubbing:
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