Bath lose Dan du Preez to hamstring tear for 'considerable' spell
Bath will be without number eight Dan du Preez for a “considerable amount of time” after he tore a hamstring, head of rugby Johann van Graan has said. The club's summer signing from Sale was hurt on the Thursday before Bath's Champions Cup defeat by Montpellier.
The hamstring is the large muscle that runs down the back of the thigh. For a number eight, it is a key part of the job. He sits at the back of the scrum, picks the ball up from the pack and drives into contact.
Bath were already missing back-row forward Miles Reid for the Montpellier game. Van Graan expects Reid to return for the trip to Gloucester, which is the next match on Bath's Premiership fixture list.
Bath captain Ben Spencer is back in the squad after surgery on a long-standing shoulder problem over the summer. He started against Montpellier. Spencer has won 21 caps for England.
Bath have turned to academy graduate Arthur Green in the number eight shirt. Green has started the past two games there and scored three tries in that spell. He came through Bath's own youth system, so the club has a homegrown answer in the position for now.
Bath's next two Premiership games are both away from home, at Gloucester and then at Sale. Sale is the club Du Preez left this summer. After that, the league pauses for four weeks so players can join up for the autumn internationals.
What stands out is how quickly the squad has adjusted. Green's form has given Bath options at a position where injuries have hit hard, and Reid's expected return will add experience to the back row.
