Aviva Premiership
Aviva Premiership Final Preview: Bath v Saracens
ESPN Staff
May 29, 2015
Bath's Stuart Hooper, Saracens' Alastair Hargreaves© (Aviva) After 22 rounds and a pair of semi-finals, two teams remain in the race for the Aviva Premiership. Bath and Saracens will vie for the title when they meet at Twickenham on Saturday. For Bath it is their first final appearance since 2004 when they lost by four points to Wasps and they will head into the match buoyed by their dominant semi-final win over Leicester at the Rec. They have vowed to stick to their style of heads up rugby but will be wary of the Saracens kick-chase. While it has been 11 years since Bath were in the Premiership final, Saracens are more recently acquainted with HQ having lost in the final last year in the last play of extra-time. It was a cruel blow for the side and they still wear those wounds. But they know what it takes to win finals. They took the Premiership in 2011 at Twickenham and will head into the match looking to starve Bath's backs of territory and possession. Team news Both Bath and Saracens are unchanged for the final. The news means Sam Burgess starts for Bath at blindside while Carl Fearns and Matt Garvey will have to be content with a spot on the bench. Burgess will come up against Maro Itoje who is handed the No.6 shirt for Saracens and with both making England's 50-man World Cup training squad, it will prove to be an intriguing match-up for the watching England coaches. Chris Ashton will have to be content with a spot on the bench with Chris Wyles and David Strettle continuing on the flanks for Saracens with Duncan Taylor and Brad Barritt paired in the centres. Key head-to-head The battle of the back-row will decide where this game is won and lost. If Saracens can prevent effective quick ball off the back of the scrum to Bath's half-backs Peter Stringer and George Ford, their fleet-footed backs will struggle to get any front-foot momentum. Jacques Burger will be key to this and Bath's No.7 Francois Louw faces the unenviable task of attempting to placate the Namibian's monster hits. The kick chase will also play an important role with Saracens the masters of this area of the game with the wonderful Richard Wigglesworth the best box-kicker in the Premiership. Bath's backs will have to be prepared for an aerial bombardment and will need slick exit strategies. Key stats
Odds Bath are priced at 4/5 to win the final with UniBet while Saracens are at Evens. Weather There is a good chance of rain with the temperature at 15 degrees C Prediction Saracens will edge it by four points. © ESPN Staff
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