Gaffney wants strong finish
Thu, 01 May 2008 12:56
Saracens Director of Rugby Alan Gaffney has stressed the importance of finishing the season on a strong note when he addressed the players earlier this week - as they started preparations for their Guinness Premiership showdown with Bath on Saturday.
Following last Sunday's epic Heineken Cup semifinal defeat to Munster, the Saracens boss gave his squad an extra day off to recover.
They returned to the training field on Wednesday and started preparations for the final two Guinness Premiership matches of the season - which Gaffney said are still crucial.
"It's still very important that we look to finish the season on a high note, especially after the performance we gave against Munster," he explained.
"We won't be going into the Bath or Bristol matches looking to roll over – far from it. It will be a tough task following the disappointment of last weekend to get the players back on a high again, but our Guinness Premiership form hasn't been good enough this season so we want to finish with two wins.
"I still believe there is a lot to play for. While we have the chance of finishing the season in a higher league position than we currently are, we will battle to the end. There are a lot of tired guys around, both physically and mentally so those are things we will have to take into consideration and there are also others who are carrying a few knocks from the weekend.
"We'll get everyone together over the next few days and assess things but I still plan to go to Bath with our strongest available team and we will be going there looking to get a result. Our supporters were magnificent on Sunday and they are sure to be traveling to Bath again in good numbers so we owe it to them to put on a performance.
"Clearly, Bath are in good form at the moment as their result against Sale in the Challenge Cup proved. They are also still fighting for a play-off space and a crack at the league title so there is plenty to play for.
"There is a lot of pride on the line on Saturday from our perspective. I was proud of our performance against Munster and that's what we are playing for now - so we are going to go there and give it our best shot."
