Freddie Burns has been made to look a fool after his clanger cost Bath victory against Toulouse on Saturday, according to the club legend Jeremy Guscott, who also described the mistake as “unforgivable”.
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Burns looked certain to score the match-winning try in the dying minutes of the game – all he had to do was dot down under the posts – but, as he celebrated prematurely, he was caught unawares by Toulouse’s Maxime Médard, who dislodged the ball from his hand.
It capped a nightmare few minutes for Burns, who had only just missed a straightforward penalty, and ultimately cost Bath dearly with Toulouse edging home 22-20. After the match the Bath director of rugby, Todd Blackadder, said there was “immense disappointment” but added “now is the time to rally behind [Freddie]” while the captain, Rhys Priestland, backed Burns but urged his side to stop celebrating before scoring tries.
Guscott told BBC 5 Live: “I don’t feel sorry for him. Somewhere in my soul there is a minuscule bit of empathy for him. The kick in front of the posts was easy enough for a man of his talents and getting the ball knocked out of the hand is unforgivable. Rather than thinking it’s done and dusted, he’s been made a little bit of a fool of.”
The Bath centre Jackson Willison, meanwhile, has tipped Burns to bounce back but the New Zealand-born centre admitted the West Country side must stop butchering tries. On the first day of the season Tom Homer also fluffed his lines with the try-line beckoning, dropping the ball as he went to put it down in a narrow defeat by Bristol.
“It’s important we get behind [Freddie], he’s always the bloke that’s training first and finishing last,” Willison said. “I don’t think it’ll be an issue with the boys getting around him and encouraging him. He’ll come in on Monday as normal Freddie.
“It’s seven points that will make the difference in the end. I don’t score many tries myself so as soon as I see that white line I put it down straight away. I was the guy right behind him and was just trying to encourage him to put it down. Knowing Freddie, he’s so chilled, I don’t think anyone is going to be as disappointed as him, so we move on. He said sorry. He’s a bit gutted. But there were four or five chances where just that extra pass and we would have been over the line.”
Bath now travel to Wasps on Saturday when defeat will all but end hopes of qualification for both teams after Leinster’s rampant victory against Dai Young’s side on Friday. Willison said: “We’ve made it hard for ourselves. It’s fair to say it’s make or break.”