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David Flatman believes that Bath are set to dominate the Premiership for the foreseeable future and are the clear favourites for this year’s title.
Johann van Graan’s side sit six points clear at the top of the table after last weekend’s West Country derby win over Gloucester and have lost just two games all season.
Flatman, who featured 156 times for Bath during his career, expects his former side to avenge last season’s final defeat, and kick on for years to come.
He said: “Unless something goes badly wrong, Bath will win the Premiership and I wouldn’t be surprised if they win it next year as well.
“They don’t play a brand of rugby that requires absolute perfection or doesn’t work as well in the wet; it’s a power game with some nice bits added on, and you can play that in any weather.
“They’re my favourite by about 50 miles at the moment.”
Squad Depth
A crucial part of Bath’s success has been their squad depth, both in terms of the development of players who have been at the club for years, and new signings fitting into the squad.
With a superstar-laced squad, Flatman explains just how hard it is for opposing sides to deal with their array of threats.
He said: “They’ve got mutants everywhere.
“They’ve got a bigger and stronger pack than everyone else and they’ll beat you up and then bring some more units off the bench.
“They’ve also got internationals that aren’t even making the matchday squad.
“They’ve also managed to create an environment where people arrive and they seem to get better there.”
England’s Six Nations
Reflecting on the Six Nations, the former England prop, who made eight international appearances in his career, expressed that whilst it was a slow start from Steve Borthwick‘s side, the wins over Italy and Wales put the stamp on a great tournament for England.
He said: “It took a while to be convinced by England.
“Against Wales, they looked decisive, aggressive, cohesive, really powerful and blew Wales away to an extent that nobody else has.
“It’s the best I’ve seen England look since the 2019 World Cup semi-final. It was a win without question marks.”
After England scraped past France in the second round, in a French performance that uncharacteristically lacked execution, and gained a narrow win against Scotland, the English media were critical of England’s performance despite the results, to the disappointment of some of England’s players.
However, Flatman was encouraged by the players’ outspoken response.
He said: “The France win was invaluable being against one of the best teams in the world, but you can’t not mention that France dropped the ball loads.
“The media was right to be objective in the manner in which the way France played, and the manner in which England won against Scotland.
“There was some objection to that from the players, which I quite like.“I like the fact that they’re saying those things and they tell you what they actually think.”
Lions Tour
Looking ahead to the Lions tour to Australia this Summer, Flatman singled out Fin Smith as one of the players who did himself the most favours throughout the Six Nations.
After starting at fly-half in all four of England’s wins, the 22-year-old now seems to have nailed down the ten shirt, and Flatman believes he’ll be on the plane down under.
He said: “I’m very confident he’ll be on the plane to Australia with the Lions this Summer off the back of where he is at the moment.
“I think with him, you’ve got a toned-down version of Henry Pollock.
“Smith is as confident as Pollock, he just might not beat his chest as much!”
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