Blackadder takes swipe at below-par Bath stars

Bath rugby director Todd Blackadder has put his star players on notice after admitting standards of professionalism had fallen below his expectations.
Despite a promising start Bath failed to make the play-offs, with England men Jonathan Joseph, Anthony Watson and George Ford failing to make a post-Six Nations impact.
Their contributions compared starkly with those of their Saracens counterparts, who returned from Test duty to fire their club to Champions Cup glory.
Blackadder told The Rugby Paper: “That’s the mark of a true professional that those Saracens blokes were able to come back, flick a switch and put the club first.
“That’s what world-class players do; they perform at the same level every week and take pride in their performance. Playing Test match rugby takes a lot out of you and is draining, but you’ve got to be tough all the time and Saracens do that really well.
“Their minds lead their bodies and that’s our challenge now, for our guys to come back in future and perform. People can come back from international duty looking for a rest but in future it’s about making sure everyone’s head’s in the right place.”
Blackadder was equally infuriated by a booze-fuelled late season incident which resulted in 11 unnamed players being disciplined after some had streaked across the Rec.
However, he insists the matter presents positives, explaining: “We were really disappointed by that but a lot of good learning will come out of it because it was unacceptable. It highlighted where we need to get to with our off-field discipline.
“It was a really poor decision by some people but it has been the catalyst of change. Teams that do things like that are mediocre so it was a really good insight and it won’t happen again.”
Blackadder says off-field standards must improve if Bath are to end a nine-year trophy drought.
He added: “We were close to the top four but I think our professionalism can be so much better and there have been good, challenging conversations.
“The profile of our team is young, and in key positions too, so if we want to be up with the best we need to be really obsessive around our habits. We’ve got a really good squad with so much growth in it, but we must live the elite lifestyle that ensures everyone performs to their best.”
Meanwhile, the former All Black back rower believes the forthcoming Lions series is too close to call. He said: “It will be an unbelievably tight contest.
“The challenge for the Lions is preparation and the Super Rugby teams will be hell bent on disrupting them, but I don’t believe it will be a clean sweep. It could be the best series ever – the Lions have a squad capable of really competing.”
NEALE HARVEY