Former England fly-half Stuart Barnes believes that Finn Russell and Bath are missing the influence of their former attack coach Lee Blackett.
The West Country outfit, who are the defending champions, have made another good start to the PREM campaign and currently reside in second position.
However, they were close to back-to-back home defeats after succumbing to Northampton Saints and almost letting a 26-0 lead slip against Exeter Chiefs.
Russell not at his best
It has coincided with a slight downturn in form from Russell, who hasn’t been quite at his best since the conclusion of the November internationals.
And Barnes believes that Bath are now feeling the effects of the loss of Blackett as the club’s attack guru.
Blackett joined the England set-up in September after taking a short-term role in Steve Borthwick’s backroom team for the games against Argentina and USA in July.
“Lee Blackett, the former Bath coach, is the man formulating the way to turn strategy into tries and victories,” Barnes wrote in the Sunday Times column.
“He is a fine coach. The manner in which Bath – in Blackett’s absence – are relying more and more on their five-metre pick-and-drive suggests a team massively missing him. An unwelcome but innate conservatism is stifling even Finn Russell.
“In football, Arsenal and their set pieces dominate. In rugby the five-metre lineout is the first-choice option to score a try.
“Backs moves are occasional gems, happily remembered, but the grist and grind of pick, drive, pick, drive is the modus operandi, its frequently unstoppable patient approach exploited by forwards coaches throughout the professional game. Pretty ugly, but effective.”
England’s and Bath’s fundamentals
In some ways, both England and Bath have a similar approach to the game, prioritising set-piece, physicality and a strong kicking game, which perhaps shows the influence of Blackett.
Despite a clear focus on the fundamentals, the West Countrymen were an exceptional attacking side in 2024/25 as they touched down 96 times in 18 games domestically – one more than the next best, Bristol Bears.
And since Blackett’s arrival in the international set-up, firstly on a part-time basis before making it permanent ahead of the 2025 end-of-year series, the Red Rose have looked effective in attack.
As Barnes admits, England will never be a free-flowing outfit, but having that cutting edge will prove crucial in challenging the Springboks.
“England won’t worry about the beauty contest. They are going to be performing at a more pressurised level, physically and psychologically,” he added.
“Borthwick is not the obsessive, kick for kick’s sake coach he was in the 2023 World Cup, but he is not going to allow England to become an international version of Northampton.”
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