Always a bundle of enthusiasm and ideas, Brad Davis has cause tobe particularly bubbly as the 2011-12 season dawns. The effervescentAustralian has seen his title and responsibilities change over thesummer. With Steve Meehan having left the club as head coach, Davishas assumed the title of first-team coach (backs), and is noworchestrating all matters behind the pack.
The former rugby league half-back is a popular figure among theplayers, who already recognise the positive effect that theincreased responsibility has had on Davis. "Brad did a lot of thestuff with the backs last season anyway and he is well-respected,"said fly-half Sam Vesty. "Him having full licence this season hasbeen reinvigorating for us and him.
"He's always been hands-on, but he's able to do the job with abit more freedom now."
Youngster Ben Williams - who is poised to play a pivotal role inthe centre for Bath during the World Cup period - is similarlyenthusiastic about Davis' impact.
"Brad gets involved, he loves it," explained Williams. "I said tohim recently that I thought he could still do a job out on thefield, although maybe those legs of his are a bit too skinny now toget involved!
"He mixes things up well and the knowledge and skill-set he hascoming from a league background helps us get our shapes right."
Davis joined Bath in 2006, taking responsibility for honing thesquad's skills and defence.
Now he is taking the lead in fashioning the club's attackingstrategy - and is keen to make Bath known for more than just anexpansive, off-loading style. "It's about having an organised gameand clarity about what we want to achieve as a group, and I think wetick that box," he explained.
"That's what we're doing as a coaching staff and we feel we areon the right path.
"We have looked at our attack and we want to be multi-threat. Wewant to be able to attack in and around our nine, in and around theten and also out wide, as well as the forwards being a threat intheir own right. But we work on the key principle that we want to dothe right thing at the right time. One of our mantras is to build agame that can beat any side in the Premiership on any given day. Andto achieve that, again we need great clarity and understanding inthe way we want to play." Bath's back division looks light onnumbers for the opening weeks of the season, with Matt Banahan onEngland duty, All Black fly-half Stephen Donald fulfillingcontractual obligations in New Zealand, Olly Barkley injured andrugby league convert Kyle Eastmond completing his final season inSuper League. But Davis is more than comfortable with the groupcurrently at his disposal. "Like any side, if we have a few injuriesit takes its toll," he said. "But I'm 100 per cent confident thatthe guys we've got can go out there and do a great job. They'veshown that in training.
"You need a little bit of luck, of course, until we get the restof the players here. When we get them back that will give us greaterflexibility, but for now everyone who is here is fit, training hardand looking forward to the start of the season."
No comments:
Post a Comment