SQUAD depth will be of huge benefit to Bath Rugby throughout this season’s Premiership campaign, according to director of rugby Todd Blackadder.

Blackadder has welcomed as many as 50 players to Bath’s Farleigh House training headquarters ahead of the club’s opening pre-season fixture against Scarlets at home on Friday, August 24.

It’s a stark contrast to the club’s campaign last season, with Bath unable to rest certain players due to a lack of first-team players.

With depth comes competition for team places, an element which will further boost Bath’s hopes of bagging a play-off spot this season – according to Blackadder.

He said: “This year has been amazingly different as we’ve had 45 to 50 players training.

“We’ve managed to progress so much quicker this season, and it’s good to see players like Jamie (Roberts) that haven’t had a pre-season in a long time training the house down.

“He looks the fittest he’s ever been, just like our other internationals.

“Consistency is certainly what is driving us and our behaviours at the moment.

“We’re trying to build some good foundation work in pre-season so we can translate it once the competitive season starts.

“Looking at the first five or six weeks of the season, we can afford to look at workloads and manage players.

“We can do things like rotation – last year we couldn’t afford to give some players rest.

“Having a squad with depth will help us plan and prepare better. I’m excited off the back of last season as we learnt a lot.

“The effort from the players has been of gold standard. At the moment that means nothing, but it puts us in a good position.”

While having plenty of options has its benefits, Blackadder admits keeping every member of the team pleased will be a near-impossible job.

Despite this, the Bath chief vowed to offer competitive training for every player during every training session – something which he hopes will boost in-house competition for team spots.

He added: “You can’t keep everyone happy, but what we can do is train our players to compete at a competitive level every day.

“There will be good competition for team places, and when the pressure is on during key games our performances will benefit knowing there’s always another player breathing down your neck.

“I’m sure by the end of the season everyone would’ve played enough rugby and had an opportunity – it certainly looks like everyone is ready to take it.

“Bringing in some experience has been good for us too, not only has it been good for role modelling but it’s benefitting the younger players coming through too.”