FORD TAKES EARLY BATH

Mike Ford, the Bath coach, is leaving the club with immediate effect. He moves on after four years, having failed to move forward from last season's successes, with Bath only winning 9/22 league games and finishing 17 points off play offs. OATH has been critical of underperforming Bath this season, and the club never really recovered from the "Burgess" saga post RWC 2015, also losing two more players due to ill discipline towards the end of the season, along with Stuart Hooper, the captain, to injury, and finally the calming influence Neal Hatley from the coaching team to England. There appears to have been a lot of emotion, pressure and intensity at Bath, led by the owner, Bruce Craig, as well as Mike Ford. Some players respond to this, obviously most at Bath, did not. There wasn't a lot of fun to be had, and key players form dipped as a result (Joseph, Watson, Denton). Some decided to leave like Ollie Devoto, who is moving down the road to the new West England powerhouse, Exeter Chiefs.

Few smiles at Bath this season...

So who will pick up the poison chalice and try to transform a great club into Premiership Top 4 next season. The bookies favourite is Heyneke Meyer, the ex-Springkoks coach, as others in the running, like Stuart Lancaster, either look set to move elsewhere (Queensland Reds or Highlanders), or stay put, as in Pat Lam (Connacht) or Gregor Townsend (Glasgow) to finish off what they have started. Bruce Craig may have to be patient for success as Nigel Wray has been financially supporting Saracens for 20 years, and has only just won the European Champions Cup.

BEALE CONFIRMED FOR WASPS

As predicted in OATH on 9th March Kurtley Beale has signed for Wasps for next two seasons for a reputed £750k annual salary making him the highest paid player in the Prem. So despite losing the Piatu brothers the Wasps backline of Simpson Gopperth Beale Daly Wade Cipriani still looks pretty good.

TALKING POINTS AT CLOSE OF SEASON

So a festival of rugby awaits those going to sample the culinary delights of Lyon in a couple of weeks time, with Sarries squaring up against Racing Metro 92 in the European Champions Cup Final on the Saturday evening, and Harlequins facing Montpelier the day before in the Challenge Cup Final. A great blend of French v English, although Montpelier could play in the Super 18, based on the number of Saffers they have in their side. I think, despite Dan Carter, Saracens will have too much for Racing, and Montpelier, going great guns in Top 14, will just pip Quins. I will be there, ensconced in some bouchon somewhere, savouring the finest St Joseph someone else's money can buy.

Can Bristol finally make it back in the Premiership after 17 seasons of disappointment in the Championship (well it feels like it). They have a considerable points advantage over Bedford going into next weekend's semi-final second leg, and, assuming they beat Yorkshire Carnegie at home, should play Doncaster in the final. This will make it a 1st v 2nd in the table clash, and Bristol should win (but as I said, we have been ...etc)

Rob Andrew has finally been fired, and replaced by Nigel Melville, who returns from running USA Rugby on Colorado. Mr Teflon, as he was known, has somehow survived the English rugby debacles of the last 10 years, including the managerial appts of Andy Robinson, Martin Johnson and Stuart Lancaster, plus RWC 2015 early group exit.

And Ruaridh Jackson is having to leave Wasps to find more regular rugby with Harlequins next season, as Danny Cipriani moves South to act as understudy at Wasps to Jimmy Gopperth. Ruaridh was awesome early season and it is a shame that he has to move on. Cips was a Wasps legend first time around, before his injury, but time is against him and I can't see him getting regular starts with Gopperth on form. And Bath have fired their Japanese no.8 Mafi, after a bust up with the physio, so having lost both, Neal Hatley to England, and a tight game v Saints last weekend, not a good end to a bad season for the "money boys".

ONE RULE FOR THE FRENCH, ONE RULE FOR THE REST

In the excellent Guardian Breakdown blog, Paul Rees reported on the contempt that France shows to bans handed out by other bodies like the European Champions Cup Committee. It is truly disgraceful. At the end of January the Stade Français hooker Laurent Sempéré was suspended for 15 weeks after being found guilty of putting a hand near the eye area of the Leicester prop Marcos Ayerza in the European Champions Cup match between the sides. He had been cited for the offence and appeared before an independent disciplinary panel convened by the tournament organisers, along with his team-mate Paul Gabrillagues, who was given eight weeks after admitting making contact with the eye area of Dan Cole. The week before, the Saracens wing Chris Ashton had been suspended for 10 weeks for a similar offence in the Champions Cup match against Ulster and missed the Six Nations having a few days earlier been recalled to the England squad. He completed his ban and returned to action at the beginning of this month. Sempéré, meanwhile, was playing again for Stade within a month of his suspension despite not appealing against it. He profited from French law which, put simply, does not recognise the sanctity of bans laid down outside the country. Its code du sport means they have to be upheld in France to be applied internally. Quelle farce! The full article is here... http://www.theguardian.com/sport/2016/apr/14/france-rules-world-rugby-rfu-laurent-sempere

HOW DO ENGLAND CLASS OF 2016 RATE AGAINST 2003?

As England secure first Six Nations Grand Slam since glory days of 2003, how do today's England starting XV compare to their RWC winning compatriots of 13 years ago? Well, the majority of the 2016 team played in RWC 2015, where England were eliminated at the group stages for the first time, whereas the 2003 team beat all the Southern Hemisphere teams in their own backyard. Consequently they were the no.1 ranked team in the world, whereas today's team are ranked 4th by comparison. If we compare backs of Dawson, Wilknson, Greenwood, Tindall, Robinson, Cohen and Lewsey from 2003 against Care, Ford, Farrell, Joseph, Watson, Nowell and Brown, I personally think only Tuilagi at his best would get into the 2003 side for Tindall at 13 (and his coach thinks he is a 12). Up front compare Woodman, Thompson, Vickery, Johnson, Kay, Hill, Back and Dallaglio from 2003 to Marler, Hartley, Cole, Kruis, Itoje, Robshaw, Haskell and Vunipola. Again, you could make an argument for Itoje for Kay and possibly Vunipola for Dallaglio (or maybe not) but no more than that. The England side of 2003 had leaders and try scorers all over the pitch, whereas today's lineup has a decent back three out wide, a very good goal kicker (but no Jonny), an effective second row, especially in the line out and a bulldozing 8. They lack real leaders especially under pressure and too many have not been in consistently good form recently especially those who play for Bath. I reckon that if the two teams played each other that the 2003 side would win comfortably by two scores.

MARLER ESCAPES PUNISHMENT

Wow not long after Browngate where Mike Brown escaped punishment for kicking Connor Murray in the face, now we have Joe Marler "getting away with it" as James once sang. Even Joe must have thought that he would struggle to survive both a punch on Evans and the gypsy jibe on Samson Lee. But the Six Nations Disciplinary Committee cleared him of all charges so his only sanction is England moving him to the bench, and that is for tactical game plan reasons only. In fact, Eddie " Win at all costs" Jones went on the offensive yesterday claiming Wales were trying to derail his Grand Slam plans when they merely expressed surprise at the surprising decision. If Joe "Teflon" Marler scores the winning try tomorrow to secure the Grand Slam then eyebrows will be raised and bottoms squirmed from World Rugby to the RFU.

PLAYER NEEDS 11 STITCHES IN APPENDAGE INJURY

A rugby league player says his appendage was nearly torn off in a game last month. Haydn Peacock suffered the partial dismemberment while playing for French team AS Carcassonne last month. The intimate injury happened when a player from St Esteve Catalans Dragons grabbed his groin. Haydn needed 11 stitches, which is quite impressive.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/newsbeat/article/35801847/rugby-players-penis-almost-torn-off-in-tackle

Ouch...