The season is set to get underway this Saturday with The Gladiators set to travel to local rivals Swindon St George for their opening fixture in the 2021 West of England league. The game will kick off at 14:30 and again Covid restrictions will mean it is played without spectators.
Matt Bodeys’ team enjoyed a good run out against Devon Sharks last week and despite losing 6-20, there were lots of positives to take out of the friendly which formed part of their preparations for the season. Commenting on the league start coach Bodey stated “I’m looking forward to kicking off the season against our old friends at Swindon St George, and really excited to see some of the new faces as well as the consistent boys in the squad from previous seasons. As we bring together all that we’ve been working on over the preseason, it will give us a good test of where we’re at as a playing group both collectively and also in key combinations across the park.”
Head Coach Bodey has a sizable injury table ahead of the Swindon game with Ben Thyer (heel), Josh Frost (concussion), George Frost (hand), Cam Taylor (Knee), John Clay (shoulder), Sam Pascoe (lower leg), Henry May (knee) and Hayden Rogers (arm) having to sit out the game against Swindon.
Captain Brandon Ball is convinced that despite the injury list Bath Gladiators will be ready “I’m looking forward to kick the league off after so long and I know the rest of the boys are too. The boys have put a lot of hard work in at training and although we might be missing a few of the boys for the game, we also have a number of new players making their Bath debut who I’m excited to see perform on Saturday. Roll on Saturday.”