Moody targeting trophies
Bath's Lewis Moody says nothing but silverware will be acceptable as he embarks on his first season with the club.
Moody signed a three-year contract with Bath after leaving Leicester earlier this summer. It will probably be the final career move that Moody makes, which means that trophies become all the more important.
There were strong rumours earlier in pre-season that Moody may be named Bath's captain ahead of Luke Watson. However, Watson got the nod for that role and Moody now seems fully focused on making sure that Bath are successful this season.
Bath have a high number of strengths that will give them a very good chance of winning something this season. However, they also have a few weaknesses that they will have to deal with along the way.
Bath's strengths
Straight away there seems to be an air of optimism around Bath that has been missing for a long time. There has been mixed feeling at Bath ever since a number of the club's players were involved in a drugs scandal. However, these days seem to be behind the club.
Bath have made the right additions during the summer in order to enhance the optimism at the club. Moody has arrived at Bath along with the likes of Tom Biggs and Sam Vesty who will also be looking to make a big impression.
The pace of Bath's rugby during pre-season has been very high. When a team moves the ball quickly then it becomes very difficult to defend against and creates more scoring opportunities for quicker members of the team to take advantage of.
Moody said: "The reason I play is to be part of winning sides and part of that is silverware. It takes a lot of commitment and this side has it in abundance. I played in the Premiership semi-final last year at Welford Road [which Leicester won 15-6] and the game could have gone either way."
Bath's weaknesses
There is a tremendous amount of pressure at Bath right now because of the financial investment that has been put in to the club. Bruce Craig will be looking for a return on his money and anything less than trophies will not be considered acceptable by the owner.
Bath are a side that have traditionally made unforced errors in big games. This is because they like to attack and lead from the front. They cannot leave gaps in the defence because the better sides in European and domestic rugby will exploit these.
Moody added: "I think this Bath side is very hungry for success and it's obvious to see. It's a quality side down here and I'm glad to be part of something special. You can't lie and say it's not difficult but it's been interesting to learn a new procedure. But at the end of the day you play to the guys around you and I'm now part of a new set-up."
Betting advice
Bath are shaping up very positively ahead of their first Premiership game of the season. They have a deep squad and play entertaining attacking rugby. Don't hesitate to have a wager on them winning the league this season because they have all of the right components to do so.
Moody will go over the try line at some point this year. However, he may not score the volume of points needed to make him the top scoring player at Bath by the end of the league campaign. Back him but only do so on a match by match basis, which is far safer than taking a punt on him now to score a huge number of points.
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