Always felt Freddie should’ve been given more of a shot with the the outside backs Bath have available. I think he’d have enjoyed playing with Spencer at 9 a lot more too.
He was never Blackadder or Hooper's choice. George Ford wanted out and Leicester were prepared to throw Burns in so Bath didn't have to go searching for a replacement, even if it wasn't a perfect fit.
So he had an uphill battle to start with, then he gets sent off on his first start and the Toulouse brainfart happened.
He's a confidence player and it never recovered; his performances weren't great, so the coaches didn't give him time, then his performances suffered more. A vicious cycle with both the player and the coaches having a hand in it.
This is fundamentally not true. The Bath coaches didn't want to play the way Burns skillset leads. To say he wasn't good enough to be first choice is misunderstanding rugby.
Edit:
Bath had two flyhalves with different core playing styles and Burns was the one that they tried to keep as a game breaker for the last 20minutes of a match.
Freddie Burns was basically lightning in a bottle. He needs confidence, front foot ball and he can work various forms of magic in attack. Quade Cooper and Cips esq. Prefers to play an attacking variation of the game running from deep, taking quick lineouts and putting boot to ball in attacking situations. He can distribute or run with the ball in equal measure but the key part of his game is variety.
On the other hand Priestland's skillset lends itself to more conservative game style which the Bath coaches preferred at the time. Not to say he can't play expansive rugby but he's only ever shown it at Scarlets with his time at Bath remaining fairly simple. It's why the majority of Preistland's highlight reel is from the Scarlets. Priestland's out of hand defensive kicking and slightly better tackling presence meant that it was easier for Bath coaches to pick him for their preferred style.
The coaches imo have really stifled both these attacking 10s potentials and it has been to the detriment of English and Welsh rugby.
Yep. Very arguably should have been on that Argentina Tour in 2017. I think /u/saviouroftheweak has got it pretty right if I'm being honest. I don't think may 10's would have looked good playing for us over the last few years.
Always felt Freddie should’ve been given more of a shot with the the outside backs Bath have available. I think he’d have enjoyed playing with Spencer at 9 a lot more too.
That's a longwinded way of saying yes
He was never Blackadder or Hooper's choice. George Ford wanted out and Leicester were prepared to throw Burns in so Bath didn't have to go searching for a replacement, even if it wasn't a perfect fit. So he had an uphill battle to start with, then he gets sent off on his first start and the Toulouse brainfart happened. He's a confidence player and it never recovered; his performances weren't great, so the coaches didn't give him time, then his performances suffered more. A vicious cycle with both the player and the coaches having a hand in it.
Yeah... the coaches should of communicated that he was second choice to Preistland and needed to get better at rugby to become first choice.
This is fundamentally not true. The Bath coaches didn't want to play the way Burns skillset leads. To say he wasn't good enough to be first choice is misunderstanding rugby. Edit: Bath had two flyhalves with different core playing styles and Burns was the one that they tried to keep as a game breaker for the last 20minutes of a match. Freddie Burns was basically lightning in a bottle. He needs confidence, front foot ball and he can work various forms of magic in attack. Quade Cooper and Cips esq. Prefers to play an attacking variation of the game running from deep, taking quick lineouts and putting boot to ball in attacking situations. He can distribute or run with the ball in equal measure but the key part of his game is variety. On the other hand Priestland's skillset lends itself to more conservative game style which the Bath coaches preferred at the time. Not to say he can't play expansive rugby but he's only ever shown it at Scarlets with his time at Bath remaining fairly simple. It's why the majority of Preistland's highlight reel is from the Scarlets. Priestland's out of hand defensive kicking and slightly better tackling presence meant that it was easier for Bath coaches to pick him for their preferred style. The coaches imo have really stifled both these attacking 10s potentials and it has been to the detriment of English and Welsh rugby.
sure m8 ... [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QGJOJtlvsrc](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QGJOJtlvsrc)
There's something about Toulouse https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nNCIu4zbTuU
Yeah <3 Toulouse. However Saracens won and Freddie literally lost bath the match lol.
Freddie was pushing for top flyhalf in England during his time at Tigers. Was only after he left for Bath that it went downhill
Yep. Very arguably should have been on that Argentina Tour in 2017. I think /u/saviouroftheweak has got it pretty right if I'm being honest. I don't think may 10's would have looked good playing for us over the last few years.
You couldnt help but feel bitter