Bath boss Steve Meehan suggests summer rugby switch
Steve Meehan (left) will be replaced by Sir Ian McGeechan at the Bath helm
Bath head coach Steve Meehan believes English rugby should experiment with summer rugby for the benefit of the sport and spectators.
Australian Meehan will leave Bath in May after five years at the club.
He regards his sides as being domestic rugby's trendsetters in that time, but insists the sport can improve further.
"It would be an interesting experiment and I'd rather tamper with when the season runs than the laws," Meehan told BBC Somerset.
"In many respects I'm a traditionalist when it comes to rugby, but at the heart of it I want to see quality rugby. Rugby league has benefitted from changing their season and I think rugby union could do the same.
BATH UNDER STEVE MEEHAN
2006/07 Premiership: Eighth European Challenge Cup: Final
2007/08 Premiership: Third European Challenge Cup: Winners
"As a result of playing in those conditions the skill level of the players would improve, the tracks they're playing on would be better and it's a quicker and more athletic game.
"Speaking with my accent there will be others saying the next thing you want to do is de-power the scrum and everything else. We don't want to do that."
Meehan concedes he is bowing out with a sense of "what if" in a season when the club will almost certainly fail to qualify for the Premiership play-offs for the first time in four years.
In the three previous campaigns his sides were one of the country's most attacking outfits with 166 tries overall, a figure matched only by Leicester, and the side were also the leading try scorers last season with 49.
But this term that tally has dramatically fallen away and to date they have crossed for just 26 tries in their 19 league fixtures, a paltry return that only betters Newcastle's 23 in the top-flight.
They have scored at an average of a little over 17 points a game, although they do boast the second-best defence in the league this term.
But while reflecting on a season marred by inconsistency and missed opportunities on the field, Meehan was quick to focus on the positives of his tenure, the improvements of players and the unearthing of talent like Matt Banahan and Nick Abendanon, who have gone on to win England honours with cross-code convert Shontayne Hape.
"At the end of this season the club will be in a better position than when I arrived, which is something that you've got to take some joy from and a sense of achievement," said Meehan.
"It's been a challenging five years. We've had all sorts of things thrown at us but at the same time it's been very enjoyable and in some respects I've always felt we've been the trendsetters in certain areas of the rugby in the Premiership.
"What we have done is shown teams that you can play.
"We've always taken the attitude of trying to win games as opposed to stopping the opposition and our attitude, which has been pretty positive, has seen other teams try and replicate that and some of them have done it very, very successfully.
"That's my idea of sport. I like to see people go out and do the best they can as opposed to nullifying the opposition. Hopefully more and more teams will follow suit."
Meehan has three games left at the helm, including one home match against Newcastle, before a summer change of structure at Bath that will see Sir Ian McGeechan take overall control of the playing side after his arrival last summer as performance director.
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