Live Rugby: Bath Rugby vs Saracens Live Streaming Rugby EDF Energy Cup On PC

sportslivetv — Sun, 07 Feb 2010 08:43:45 +0000

Rugby: EDF Energy Cup
United Kingdom

The EDF Energy Cup :: The EDF Energy Cup (also known as the Anglo-Welsh Cup) is an English and Welsh rugby union knock-out cup competition featuring the twelve Guinness Premiership clubs and four Welsh Regions. Prior to the 2005-06 season, the competition was open to all English clubs.

Bath Rugby vs Saracens

Match scheduled:
Date: 07-02-2010
Time:17:00 until 20:00
Saracens vs Dragons

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Bath Rugby will field a strong, experienced starting XV for tomorrow’s Anglo-Welsh Cup match at The Rec (2.15pm) against a fresh-faced Sale Sharks squad.

As expected, Butch James will make his comeback from knee surgery for the hosts. The only Academy player in Bath’s starting XV is openside flanker Guy Mercer.

Sale, by contrast, will bring a highly inexperienced side down to The Rec. Outside centre Jordan Davies is set to make his debut, while fly-half Mark Atkinson will make his first senior start, ensuring James will not make his comeback against Sale hot-shot Charlie Hodgson.

The Sharks’ bench looks even more youthful than the starting XV, with Oxford University pair Ian Kench and Alex Cheeseman in line to make their Sale debuts.

From the strength of Bath’s team, it is clear head coach Steve Meehan views the Sale clash as an opportunity for his side to build momentum ahead of the return to Guinness Premiership action the following weekend.

Bath are in need of a handsome win, despite already being out of the Anglo-Welsh LV= Cup. They have lost their last three matches, with their last win coming against Leeds Carnegie on January 2.

Their attacking options are boosted by the return of Nick Abendanon (shoulder) at fullback, but they will be without young lock Scott Hobson (ankle) who so impressed against Leicester last week.

Bath field an experienced tight five of David Barnes, Pieter Dixon, Duncan Bell, Peter Short and Stuart Hooper, who will captain the side.

Lee Mears, who was dropped by Martin Johnson from the England team earlier this week, has a spot on the bench.

Young Bath forwards Nathan Catt and Josh Ovens are also named as replacements.

Bath assistant coach Brad Davis is hoping James’ return will get the side firing on all cylinders.

“It’s a boost for the team to have Butch back,” he said. “It’s been a long time coming. It will be great for him to get back out on the field and do what he does best – play rugby.”

Sale Sharks director of rugby, Kingsley Jones, said: “We go to Bath trying to return to winning ways. It’s very important to the club that we start winning after some hard games recently.

This week a series of volunteers are being put through their paces in laboratories at the University’s Claverton Campus to study the side-step technique and the forces it exerts on players’ joints and ligaments.

The idea is to introduce the volunteers to a new way of side-stepping, similar to that used by tennis players when moving, using motion capture technology to study the impact on the joints to see if the forces reduce the risk of injury.

The volunteers will wear LED markers to track their body motion while they run across a laboratory and react to a light signal to change direction to avoid the “defender”.

The computer will then create a model of the volunteer and combine this with the forces measured at the ground to calculate the forces having to be absorbed at the ankle, knee and hip joints.

Dr Grant Trewartha, lecturer in biomechanics in the School for Health, is running the project in conjunction with colleagues Dr Cassie Wilson and Dr Polly McGuigan, at Bath as well as Dr Bridget Munro, senior lecturer in biomechanics in the School of Health Sciences at the University of Wollongong in Australia.

Dr Trewartha said: “It is a serious injury which can still end careers despite surgery.

“If we can modify side-step technique to help reduce these injuries then it would be beneficial to the individuals, the teams they play for and, of course, the NHS.

“This project will look at whether we have to think about changing the way that players play. Then we have to look at groups of players playing in the traditional way against a group playing the new way. If this proves to reduce injury then maybe there’s an argument for changing the way the game is played.”

Worcester Warriors have confirmed that prodigious young talent Chris Pennell has signed a new two-year deal.

The Worcester News revealed this morning that the 22-year-old was set to extend his stay with his hometown club.

Pennell, another product of the successful Warriors Academy, first burst into the senior team during the 2007/08 season when he made his Guinness Premiership debut against Bath Rugby.

Comfortable playing at full back, wing and centre, Pennell made 20 competitive first team starts during his first senior season for Warriors, including 12 in the top-flight.

Worcester born and bred, Pennell represented England at Under 19 level and became a key performer for the club during the 2008/09 campaign until he suffered a serious knee injury in Europe.

The dynamic back has since returned to full fitness, grabbing a tries against Connacht Rugby and Olympus Rugby XV Madrid this season, and has been praised by director of rugby Mike Ruddock for his commitment and determination to battle back from injury in recent seasons and continue his development.

“It’s a big boost to us that Chris Pennell has signed for two years,” said Ruddock. “He is an outstanding young man with a strong work ethic and high skill level.

He was chosen ahead of Shane Geraghty, Dominic Waldouck and Danny Cipriani, all of whom have more flair in their game and would have been more popular choices than the 14-cap Kiwi.

It could be argued that Hape is not ready for international honours with just 16 months of rugby under his belt but Jason Robinson, who made a hugely successful cross-code switch to the 15-man game for England, was hardly ready himself when he was first selected as an international.

Hape cites Robinson as an inspiration for his rugby career: “I am obviously aware that because I have come from rugby league, I am open to criticism, but Jason Robinson is one of the great success stories. I am hoping that I can do half as well as he has done and I plan to give it my all.”

The English rugby team, in possession of a trio of former New Zealanders – Dylan Hartley, Riki Flutey and Hape – can almost boast equality with the nation’s cricket team, which features four players of South African origin.

The issue of foreign-born players in national sides is a hot topic in England at the moment.

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Live Rugby: Bath Rugby vs Saracens Live Streaming Rugby EDF Energy Cup On PC