State of Union address - Tom Bradshaw's rugby blog

And to cap it all...

2012-02-13T11:12:00.000Z

Depending on your perspective (which in turn depends on how deep your pockets are), the Premiership’s salary cap is either a market-distorting piece of red tape that prevents English sides from competing on a level playing field in Europe, or a precious regulation that prevents the Chelseafication of rugby.

Whatever your thoughts on the cap’s existence, if it is there then it has to be enforced. Toothless regulations only muddy the waters.

For too long – to my mind, at least – the cap has been unsatisfactorily policed. It took too long to appoint a cap manager, and when he was appointed it was all a bit too low key.

Which is why it is good news that Premiership Rugby has now appointed big-hitting law firm Charles Russell to beef up its monitoring process.

The rumours of some clubs having previously embarked on sharp practices in order to skirt the cap are legion and it would be disingenuous of the authorities to pretend otherwise.

No doubt a great number of the ‘cap dodge’ tales are apocryphal – a birthday card stuffed full of cash was a wheeze that one player once jokingly mentioned to me – but for the sake of fairness, every side in the Premiership needs to know that all the others are complying with the wage ceiling.

Looking at their CV, few would doubt that Charles Russell are the ideal practice with which to ensure clubs remain whiter than white when it comes to the cap. Its clients include the Football Association, the British Horseracing Authority, the Scottish Football Association, the Rugby Football Union and the Welsh Rugby Union.

Contract scrutiny, spot checks and annual assessments should all be part and parcel of cap regulation. And rather like the judicial system at large, I suspect the rugby- supporting public would like cap assessment to not only be done, but be seen to be done.

Which is why an annually published cap report – with the necessary figures and sensitive information redacted – would be a welcome move.

With the addition next season of a regulation that will allow clubs to place one player outside of the cap, plus a modest increase in the basic cap, efficient monitoring will become more crucial. Charles Russell, get cracking.

Are you happy now, Sir?

2012-01-31T17:56:00.000Z

When a Premiership coach mutters the words “referee” and “criticism” in the same sentence, he is dipping his toes in very dangerous waters indeed.

As Saracens’ Brendan Venter and Sale’s Steve Diamond have learned over the past year, expressing one’s contempt for an official’s performance in a less than subtle way can lead to stiff punishment.

And quite right too. Once respect for the ref goes, respect for the opposition – and the broader game – can go up in a puff of smoke as well.

But things cannot be allowed to swing so far that a referee’s performance is beyond criticism and that is why Brad Davis’s remarks, in today’s Chronicle, are welcome.

Read the Bath first-team coach’s comments and you can feel the frustration – but there is sympathy for the referees’ situation, too. Goodness knows that refereeing a rugby match is a tall order. As an enterprise with more regulations than an EU bureaucrats’ banquet, one man cannot make the right call at every single point in an 80-minute game. The poor bloke only has one pair of eyes.

But that does not mean referees exist in an inner sanctum and are untouchable. If coaches believe a referee has mishandled a particular part of a game, and can deliver measured and cogent explanations as to why that is, then they should be free to voice those views at a post-match press conference. And while Davis’ suggestion that referees should make public mea culpas every time they have made a howler might sit uneasily with some, including me, I can sympathise with the general direction – if not the conclusion – of the argument.

A regime that required referees to hold their hands up could, over time, erode trust in those very officials it was designed to support. Rather than earning supporters’ respect, fans could well end up rolling their eyes and saying “He’s got it wrong again”.

There will be those who lament the fact that not all referees now receive the rather Victorian address of ‘sir’, although a number of professionals still use this.

But if there is to be greater trust in the way games are officiated, then I can suggest three measures to at least get the process going.

Firstly, there needs to be uniform coverage of matches by television match officials. You cannot have a situation where one match is covered by a TMO and another – which is of potentially equal significance to the league’s final shape – which does not give the ref the option of ‘going upstairs’.

Secondly, ensure the assistant referees – aka linesmen – do indeed assist the ref. Well- run games are invariably the product of a trio of officials working in harness, with the man in the middle constantly using the extra eyes and ears that are at his disposal.

Finally, the RFU should make public (perhaps on its website) an abbreviated version of the feedback that it gives to clubs about a referee’s performance. This would at least satisfy supporters that gripes are being addressed. It would also keep the game’s regulators and referees on their toes.

That should help keep the supporters onside, shouldn’t it, sir?

Matt Banahan column coming your way

2012-01-19T17:07:00.000Z

He might have accused me of being a car thief when I turned up at a press conference the other day in the editor's Merc, but Matt Banahan is still on track to write an exclusive column for The Bath Chronicle during the 6 Nations.

The England back was controversially dropped to the second-string Saxons by Stuart Lancaster earlier this month, but Banners is itching to get back into the senior squad and will be offering his own take on Europe's top rugby competition.
We're just dotting the i's etc but I should have more details soon.

English clubs go (salary) cap in hand as Euro campaigns falter

2012-01-19T15:24:00.000Z

Bath Rugby have one last chance this weekend to ensure their European campaign ends with a bang rather than a kitten-like whimper. But whether or not they manage to beat Glasgow on Saturday, this season's campaign has seen Bath's value among the continent's big boys fall faster than the Euro.

If Bath were a European economy, they would have endured a triple dip recession in recent years. A new Heineken Cup campaign always heralds fresh positivity, but Bath have nosedived in each of the last three seasons.

Bath have won four Heineken Cup matches during those three campaigns, an embarrassing stat for former champs however you dress it up.

Two of those wins were against Italian whipping boys, with the other two coming at home against Edinburgh in 2009-10 and Montpellier this season. Neither of those last two victories was convincing.

Put another way, very few scalps have been claimed by a side with the self-professed goal of rubbing shoulders with the likes of Toulouse, Munster and Leinster.

But Bath are not the only side whose stock has plummeted on the European bourse. Investors in that traditionally defensive stock, Leicester Tigers, also have cause to feel jittery.

Tigers director of rugby Richard Cockerill partly blamed the salary cap for his side's woes after they were on the end of a beating in Ulster last Friday.

In Cockers' book, the cap prevents English sides from having sufficient depth to compete with those French and Irish sides which have greater wherewithal.

There is certainly something that separates Irish clubs and English clubs at the moment. For proof of that, just cast your eye over the tables.

Three Irish provinces sit at the top of their pools. And the only province that isn't, Connacht, came within a gnat's crotchet of beating Gloucester at Kingsholm, a location not exactly known for its warm welcome.

The cap will lose some of its potency as an excuse next season when it rises. A more compelling explanation for the Anglo-Irish divide, I think, is that the provinces don't have to worry about demotion from the relegation-free Pro12.

If English sides want a level playing field, the Premiership needs a fixed composition. Until then, the dice are unfairly loaded against them.

The malaise afflicting Bath Rugby

2011-12-29T11:14:00.000Z

"Thank goodness Leicester won.”

As utterances go, those four words pass a Bath Rugby supporter’s lips about as often as Halley’s Comet comes into view.

But it’s got to the point where Bath fans – for their own sanity – are having to rely on what other sides are doing. Heaven knows they receive no peace of mind from watching their own team.

Had Worcester Warriors (the team that first revealed the extent of Bath’s travails - remember that wretchedly inglorious November night at Sixways?) beaten Leicster on Tuesday, Bath would have dropped to 11th in the ladder, just eight points above bottom-placed Newcastle.

Perennial optimists will caution against such gloomy glances at the Aviva Premiership table. Maybe everything will come good as core players return. Maybe Newcastle can be relied upon to finish bottom. Maybe the current blunt strategy pursued by Bath will be whittled into a piercing dart...

On the first point, I have little doubt that the likes of Carl Fearns and Lee Mears will bring about an upswing in Bath’s fortunes once they are fit again. But the strength of that upswing will be nigh on negligible if Bath continue to play with the lack of cohesion and lateral direction that they have displayed in the past two months.

Pundits like Dean Ryan can see it and Bath’s own supporters can see it – there is less gel in Bath than there is on Lawrence Dallaglio’s scalp.

And let’s not be foolish enough to make any assumptions about Newcastle. Bath have lost seven of their last eight matches in all competitions, the Falcons three.

That is not quite comparing like with like, as Newcastle have been competing in the Amlin Cup rather than the Heineken, but the Tynesiders have still defeated the likes of Toulon and Gloucester.

With a sharper looking backline than last season, and with key players already being re-signed, only a fool would brand the Falcons as destined for the drop.

Indeed, while Newcastle sign pivotal players, Bath’s contract negotiations seem to have stalled.

Towards the end of November, chief executive Nick Blofeld was confident that a handful of new deals with out-of-contract players would be concluded and announced before Christmas. That hasn’t happened. Either the club wants to see an improvement in personal performance before deals are done or players are having second thoughts.

But once we are into the new year, players will be fair game to other clubs – and then assembling a squad gets a whole lot trickier.

It is now four weeks since club chairman Bruce Craig used a matchday programme to publicly describe his side’s performance against Worcester as “unacceptable”. Since then, Bath have lost four on the spin, conceding 108 points in the process.

The question is, if things were unacceptable to Craig then, what are they now?

Before the start of this season, the chairman declared that Bath wouldn’t be “chucking the ball around in the rain”, as they had done at times under previous head coach Steve Meehan. Instead, a more pragmatic approach would prevail.

I accept that, at times, the club’s heads-up-and-have-a-go strategy under Meehan displayed a bravado verging on the witless but what supporters are being served now appears just as witless and is far less entertaining – the worst of both worlds.

In the season of goodwill, even a hack like me has been surprised – through emails, through social media and through online forums – at the relish with which supporters have been whetting knives.

And I think the clash with London Irish at The Rec on New Year’s Day will go a long way to determining which way the bird gets carved.

Win and there will be a lot of talk about a new year and a new dawn. Lose badly with another under-par performance and the call for change will rise to a clamour.

Sporting expectations - should we demand the spirit of Amundsen rather than Scott?

2011-12-16T11:50:00.003Z

Some thoughts on the fickle (and sometimes bone-headed) nature of sporting expectation, with apologies to Robert Falcon Scott and Roald Amundsen. This is taken from my weekly column in The Bath Chronicle

The sands of expectation are a constantly shifting feature on the sporting landscape. What supporters expect can dramatically erode from one season – or indeed one month – to the next.

There are some constants. For reasons attributable only to collective hysteria, for example, every four years the English public expects to see its national side lift football's World Cup. This is a hopeless, cyclical act of illusion triumphing over reality.

But in most circumstances, where a vestige of brain power remains, supporters (except for the determinedly fanatical) are smart enough to let a side's recent form temper their expectations.

What, then, are we to make of the fact that Bath Rugby's performance against Leinster at The Rec on Saturday has been heralded by many (and I include myself in this) as something of a success, even though it was a loss?

To some supporters, it's a nonsense to view any home loss as anything other than inadequate. We've come to a pretty pass, they say, when a club of Bath's traditions and reputation is satisfied with picking up a losing bonus point at The Rec.

Talk of going down fighting against the champions of Europe is all good and well, they might add, but we want the spirit of Amundsen down here on the banks of the Avon, not Scott.

This viewpoint is understandable and I have some sympathy with it, especially when all the talk from the Bath camp at the start of the season was of turning The Rec into the sporting equivalent of Fort Knox.

But while the home of blue, black and white has proved to be very far from impregnable this season, at the weekend there was a sense of the tussle having been worthy of the shirt.

First-team coach Brad Davis remarked during pre-season that if visiting sides were to leave The Rec with anything during the 2011-12 campaign, then they would leave broken. And there can be no doubt that when Leinster climbed aboard for the flight back over the Irish Sea on Sunday evening, they will have known all about just how physical a game they had been involved in.

There has been a kind of nobility in Bath's refusal to point to their injury list as an excuse in times of recent woe. But casting one's eye over the team sheet on Sunday, the mismatch in squads wrought by Bath's injury crisis was patent.

Leinster may have been without the world-beating Brian O'Driscoll, but their bench still bristled with Irish internationals, while Bath's was heavily populated by academy players.

With that in mind, and with Bath's poor Premiership performances providing the rest of the context, Sunday's match was very far from being just another 'L' in the ledger for Bath.

A natural question following on from this is, what sort of expectations should Bath fans have for Saturday's return match at the Aviva in Dublin? The answer has to be "Higher ones than if you'd asked the same question a week ago".

And that, surely, is a sign that the rot has been stopped and (modest) progress made.

2011-12-01T14:38:00.001Z

The rugby video of the year. One man's humiliation and one for the fat boys!

Teeth-grindingly inept... but Bath Rugby take criticism on the chin

2011-12-01T10:53:00.001Z

Some analysis of Bath Rugby's no-show against Worcester Warriors in the Aviva Premiership, plus a look forward to the showdown with Sale Sharks on Saturday...

If there is to be a soupcon of solace taken from such a teeth-grindingly inept performance, it is that Bath Rugby took the flak squarely on the chin.

A quiet, shell-shocked Sir Ian McGeechan, the club’s director of rugby, admitted his side had “no excuses” after the 16-7 loss. Players muttered darkly of a “bleak” changing room and a sense of “humiliation”.

Clearly, nothing was to be swept under the carpet. And a good job, too.

Play like this in Dublin in two weeks’ time against a Leinster side studded with Ireland internationals and Bath will be destroyed. Twenty points? Thirty points? The margin really does not bear thinking about.

Perversely, good may come from a performance that provoked a curious blend of incredulity, frustration and bile from Bath fans at Sixways, on Twitter and on fans’ forums. This may have been the jolt that Bath needed to rouse them from a state of under-performing mediocrity.

Too often in the past month – against Harlequins, Glasgow and now Worcester – Bath have delivered performances that have lacked cohesion and bite. Friday night’s showing took the biscuit.

It is to Bath’s credit that they did not reach for the excuses digest, even when they had an ample stock to select from. An injury crisis at hooker, coupled with a neck injury to lock Dave Attwood, resulted in them having four props on the field at one point. And while All Black World Cup-winner Stephen Donald had a hugely disappointing game, particularly after his sensational debut a week earlier, any sensible analysis of Friday’s failings needs to consider that he is still new to both Bath and the English game. To expect the back-line to sing in just the fly-half’s second start is a tall order.

Still, Bath’s backs did not just fail to sing, they choked. Other than having a decoy runner who would plod in front of the first receiver, Bath looked bereft of ideas.

Bereft was a word that sprang to mind on the final whistle, too. The look on captain Stuart Hooper’s face said it all. Standing on the touchline with his hands on his hips, a strobe machine would have struggled to make him blink. The lock looked gobsmacked, unable to comprehend the myriad failings he had just witnessed.

In mitigation, Bath’s clash with Worcester took place just five days after a gruelling Heineken Cup scrap with Montpellier. But this was Bath without guile, without flair and without collective purpose.

They could not hold on to the ball in the first half, gave away too many penalties, and the advantage line looked like a distant country.

“We weren’t near the intensity we had the week before and we have to look at that,” said McGeechan. “It’s no good being up one week and down the next. We were pretty average on Friday.

“We’ve no excuses. These things have to be far better than they were and we need to look hard at ourselves.

“Any defeat is disappointing but it’s when we don’t do justice to ourselves that I find it quite hard to accept.”

There were positive contributions amid the dark Midlands night. Academy wing Olly Woodburn continued to show the older hands how it is done, Francois Louw put in the hard yards when he was not scrapping with his backrow adversary Sam Betty, while Charlie Beech was Bath’s stand-out front rower, even when he was pushed back to the second row when Attwood’s suspected neck injury necessitated a drastic shuffling of the pack.

Both sides lacked penetration for most of the first half but it was the intelligent game management of Worcester half backs Shaun Perry and Joe Carlisle that gave the Warriors the edge.

Carlisle kicked the hosts into the lead in the tenth minute. The tone for the evening was set when Donald missed two opportunities in quick succession to level the scores.

With just ten seconds of the half remaining, a neat pop pass by Carlisle released Miles Benjamin who was on the burst. Mark Lilley could not cling on to the winger’s shirt and Benjamin rounded Bath full-back Nick Abendanon with ease to score the converted try that was nothing less than the Warriors deserved.

Bath upped the tempo a touch in the second half and had chances, most notably when Louw burst through midfield, but the final pass was never close to being accurate enough.

Carlisle extended Worcester’s lead midway through the second period with a simple penalty but a shaft of hope for Bath was provided by a well-worked driven maul that culminated in the television match official awarding a try to the hard-grafting Beech. Replacement Olly Barkley struck the conversion beautifully. Suddenly, and almost unaccountably, Bath were within a converted score of poaching the match.

But it was not to be – and such an eventuality would have been unjust on Worcester. The visitors tried to run the ball from deep inside their own 22 and after much huffing and puffing the ploy hideously backfired. A pass by Barkley was intercepted and any hope of Bath heading back south with a losing bonus point was snuffed out when former England fly-half Andy Goode, on as a replacement, slotted a drop goal.

“No one was happy and the players were bitterly disappointed in the changing room afterwards,” said forwards coach Martin Haag after the dust had settled. “Perhaps that disappointment doesn’t show sometimes but I can assure you they were feeling it.”

The task for Haag and the rest of the Bath coaching team is to transmute that disappointment into the sporting gold dust of burning motivation. For that, they need only put the tape of Friday’s no-show on replay.

Sam Vesty voices rugby concussion worry

2011-11-07T10:09:00.000Z

An alarming brush with concussion has prompted Bath Rugby's Sam Vesty to call for the game's authorities to take action to reduce the number of head injuries.

Vesty, who is Bath's representative on the Rugby Players' Association management board, fears the game could be sitting on a dementia time bomb.

He has spoken out after being concussed while playing against his former club, Leicester Tigers, at The Rec on October 1.

The 29-year-old suffered worrying symptoms for a fortnight after taking a blow to the head from Boris Stankovich. The prop was cited for the tackle but was not banned.

Following the impact, Vesty was unable to concentrate in training, felt dizzy whenever he exercised and struggled to stay awake during the day.

Vesty says he was in excellent hands with the Bath Rugby medical team but wants to see procedures tightened across the game.

The twice-capped fly half believes dangerous tackles should be more rigorously policed and has suggested that the number of games played per season in England should be reduced to ease the demands on players.

Vesty said of his experience:

"It was worrying. There is a lot of research in America, some of which shows that American footballers are 19 times more likely to get dementia than the ordinary person, and rugby union is not a million miles away from that.

"From a long-term perspective, it's an issue the game needs to look at.

"I don't think there was anything malicious in the blow I received, it was just one of those things you get every now and again in rugby – a head knock.

"You can get over it in a day or it can take a couple of weeks, and I was rubbish for a couple of weeks.

"I felt groggy and was sleeping during the day, which is something I never do. Any time I tried to do any exercise I felt dizzy and I couldn't concentrate on the ball.

"I'd been knocked out before but I'd been fine then, so nothing like this had really happened to me."

The International Rugby Board currently has a policy of 'graduated return to play' following concussion, whereby a player undergoes a steady reintroduction to contact sessions. In the Premiership, players also have to pass a series of cognitive tests before they can return to action.

Vesty, who made his comeback off the bench against Worcester on October 22 and featured in the starting XV that beat London Irish on Saturday, continued: "There is medical protocol in place now but it just needs to be adhered to. They maybe also need to look into how many knocks you get in training and how many games you play a year.

"All these things have an impact on a player but we don't know what the repercussions are. There are some studies coming out that are a little bit worrying.

"It's not just me. A lot of the rugby public are looking into it. It's getting addressed and getting looked at and I think it's very important."

The issue is high up the agenda at Bath, with three players at the club having suffered blows to the head in October. As well as Vesty, Francois Louw and Tom Biggs suffered high challenges that floored them.

Club chief executive Nick Blofeld said: "We have had three incidents recently and are very conscious of this issue. Our medical staff are very hot on it.

"Our concern with Francois Louw is that it looked a nasty challenge and the player wasn't cited."

Vesty's position on the RPA's board gives his views weight and after the Chronicle raised his concerns with Premiership Rugby, the organisation offered to hold further talks with players.

A Premiership Rugby Ltd spokeswoman said: "Phil Winstanley (PRL rugby director) will be discussing with the Rugby Players' Association whether there's anything more that we should be doing."

An IRB spokesman said he was pleased a player of Vesty's prominence was bringing attention to the issue: “Education is key and it is great to see the RPA taking a leading role in educating its membership on the implications of concussion.”

The RFU said a regime of cognitive tests following concussion meant players’ safety was protected.

“Every elite player over the age of 18 undergoes a baseline CogSport test annually and can only return to play if they pass the test,” said a spokesman. “‘Rushing’ a player back to player is against regulation."

Guy Mercer: Bath Rugby's general-in-waiting

2011-10-21T12:18:00.002+01:00

With a back row that boasts the likes of England skipper Lewis Moody, Springbok Francois Louw, British Lion Simon Taylor and England Saxon Carl Fearns, young flanker Guy Mercer could be forgiven if he showed a hint of frustration at Bath Rugby. But the local lad who has risen through the ranks at the club is far from down-hearted. In fact, he oozes an impressive blend of maturity and good sense. After interviewing him this week, I have a prediction: Mercer will skipper Bath within five years.

Go on, be a good sport...

2011-10-21T12:09:00.001+01:00

There are debates about injustice, and there are debates about injustice in sport.

While few would question that legal debates in the Supreme Court are of greater significance to the lot of mankind than the rulings of the IRB or any other sporting body, which ones tend to linger longer in the collective psyche?

It is a peculiar fact that sporting controversy often outlives political and social controversy. That is testament to the way in which sport can seize – some might say possess – the mind.

The question of whether Sam Warburton should have been red-carded and banned for his tackle on Vincent Clerc might not be of greater legal significance than whether travellers should be Taser-ed while being evicted from a farm, but I know which one I'll recall with greater vivacity in a decade or two's time.

Similarly, there were all manner of civil rights issues being thrashed out in the mid-1960s. But when I say 'England, 1966' to you, what do you think? Moreover, ask a German about whether the ball crossed the English line after hitting the crossbar and you will receive chapter and verse. And then some.

It is a truism that sporting events can escalate into diplomatic incidents. The other side of the coin is that sporting events can sometimes defuse political problems. What, after all, is the Olympics if not a quasi-utopian portrayal of a world at peace with itself, however fleetingly?

The power of sport is that we can rehearse to ourselves all sorts of emotions and virtues. Phrases like "Gascoigne redeemed himself..." or "Pietersen atoned for his dropped catch..." or "England fans forgave Robson..." come all too easy to the fan and the journalist, because in the safe world of bat and ball we can experience mock-dramas that prepare us for the proper emotional demands of real life.

The danger of sport is that it can also poison the well of emotional response. It's now a commonplace to hear of parents behaving like apes on the touchlines of under-10 football matches, baying at the ref in a way that should land them before the Bench. That's because they take their lead from peevish footballers and managers whose stock response is rage.

All notion of stoicism, deference and emotional restraint is long dead in football. Lest I be accused of being anti- football, it came close to dying on the golf course too when the American Ryder Cup team trampled over Jose Maria Olazabal's line in 1999.

And that, tortuously, brings me back to captain Warburton. Although obviously devastated at the sending off that cost his country a place in a World Cup final, there were no tantrums or histrionics for the cameras. And didn't you find that just a little reassuring?

World in Union? Don't be such a Twit

2011-10-07T10:20:00.000+01:00

Reprimands from a team manager to players are about as welcome for a squad as Eliota Fuimaono Sapolu at an IRB tea party

Forget World in Union. Boorish antics and intemperate language from players, as well as petty mean-spiritedness from certain quarters of the media, have made this Rugby World Cup look like a comedy of human folly as much as a festival of sport.

The melody for the Rugby World Cup anthem is based on a section of Holst's The Planets but at times this competition has seemed like two planets colliding.

On the field, the division between so-called Tier 1 and Tier 2 teams has been made to look spurious – witness Tonga beating France and Samoa running both Wales and South Africa close, despite the South Sea Islanders' less charitable scheduling.

That scheduling – which involves Tier 2 sides having a shorter turnaround between matches, a state of affairs driven largely by Tier 1 sides being given weekend television slots – has come in for vociferous criticism.

Georgia have grumbled and United States captain Todd Clever has voiced his dissatisfaction but every cause needs a charismatic, articulate leader – and spearheading the criticism has been smartphone warrior and Samoa centre Eliota Fuimaono Sapolu.

Armed with his mobile and Twitter account, the former Bath Rugby player has been waging a vitriolic online campaign against the International Rugby Board's scheduling.

Sapolu, a trained lawyer, is unquestionably a bright man but, after reading some of his tweets, the question that arises is this – what's bigger, his learning or his ego's desire to usurp this World Cup for itself?

The Samoan makes cogent points about how his team and other Tier 2 sides are condemned to perform on an uneven playing field.

But to make analogies with the Holocaust, apartheid and slavery, as he has done, are extreme, disingenuous and unsavoury, no matter how much subtle reasoning he has subsequently deployed to try and explain himself.

To then call a referee biased and racist put him beyond the pale. At best it was a particularly acidic case of sour grapes, at worst it was an arrogant and libellous attack which reinforced the notion that Sapolu at times thinks he is above civil law, despite his frequent protestations that it is he who is fighting for justice.

Elsewhere at this World Cup, England have at times seemingly gone out of their way to make things as hard as possible for themselves.

Certainly, reprimands from the team manager to players are about as welcome for the England squad as Eliota Fuimaono Sapolu at an IRB tea party.

Some media portrayed Shontayne Hape as having 'broken ranks' on Monday for having the audacity to say that 'a couple of the guys have let the squad down', when really what the centre was making was a statement of the bleedin' obvious.

Fanning the flames further, The New Zealand Herald carried a picture on its front page yesterday of a surly-looking Mike Tindall alongside the headline: "An Englishman Repents: The Most Horrible Team".

That headline may well be a non sequitur but it still managed to convey an ugliness and thinly disguised malice that has characterised much of the news media's coverage.

To both the outsider with little acquaintance of rugby and to those who love the game, RWC 2011 has been a depressing spectacle at times.

Somebody ought to give Dame Kiri Te Kanawa a bell and get her to belt out World in Union again. It would be music to supporters' ears for the game to rediscover the harmonising power of rugby.

Competition: Win official Rugby World Cup 2011 game

2011-09-21T17:23:00.002+01:00

I have one copy of the PlayStation 3 version of the official Rugby World Cup 2011 game up for grabs, as well as a copy of the Xbox 360 version.
I gave my thoughts on the game in an earlier posting.
To be in with a chance of winning, answer the following question: What was the score in the Rugby World Cup final in 2007?
Email the answer to me at thebradpad@hotmail.com by the end of Wednesday, September 28. Please state which version you would like.
I'll let the winners know by the end of Friday, September 30. The editor's decision (i.e mine) will be final and I won't enter into any correspondence with entrants, unless of course it's amusing or entertaining.
I'm running the competition courtesy of 505 Games, HB Studios and Things With Wings. More information about the game is available from the official game site and its Facebook page. You can also find out more about the game on Twitter

One for the coffee table

2011-09-09T13:24:00.004+01:00

When it comes to watching the Rugby World Cup on the box, it normally boils down to piling down the pub or putting your feet up in the living room.
If it's the latter option you prefer, then you'll be needing some appropriate coffee table reading matter. And Union - The Heart of Rugby is just the ticket.
Packed with iconic images capturing key moments in the history of the game, it had even my wife - not normally the greatest of rugby aficionados - thumbing through (although that may have had something to do with the physiques on show).
Union contains the thoughts of Martin Johnson, John Kirwan, Joel Stransky, Nick Farr-Jones and Philippe Sella, but it is the photography that steals the show.
Well timed for the Rugby World Cup, Union would also be worthy of consideration as a Christmas present for that rugby-loving relative.

Union - The Heart of Rugby is published by VSP.

A few musings...

2011-09-09T11:56:00.004+01:00

League predictions, home victories and silencing Austin Healey. Read my column in this week's Bath Chronicle.

The Rugby World Cup - at your fingertips

2011-09-05T21:05:00.004+01:00

Raised on a diet of Tetris and Super Mario Bros, there has since been something of a hiatus in my gaming career.
But the release of Rugby World Cup 2011, coupled with a neighbour's penchant for his PlayStation3, got me flexing my thumbs again.
Unlike football (of the association variety), tranferring rugby to the games console is no easy task. With football, you need to kick, tackle and head. With rugby, you need to pass, ruck, maul, scrummage, punt, chip, nudge a grubber, take a lineout... The task for programmers is not easy.
Getting your head around the controls of Rugby World Cup 2011 takes a game or two - particularly for the modern gaming novice like me - but before too long you get the knack, and the result is a heap of fun.
With 20 teams to choose from, you can take charge of everyone from the All Blacks to Namibia. My recommendation is to avoid selecting France - I had three hot-headed players sin-binned in one half for dangerous tackles. No stereotyping from the programmers, then!
Rather like the Wrigleys chewing gum I used to munch on while playing Tetris all those years ago, Rugby World Cup 2011 is better when you share it with some one. This game comes into its own when you go head-to-head - and with a couple of beers on ice, it's a belting way to continue the World Cup atmosphere when there's no game on the box.
In an effort to recreate the vibe of a live televised match, there is even commentary from Stuart Barnes, Miles Harrison et al. Their repertoire of remarks seemed a little repetitive during my first stab at the game, but that probably reflected my narrow abilities rather than limited programming.
An ideal sideorder to the Rugby World Cup itself, this game is a tasty accompaniment to the real-life action in New Zealand. I'm glad I came out of gaming retirement for this one.
Enjoy a taste of the game here.

Rugby World Cup 2011, by 505 Games and HB Studios, is available for the Xbox 360 and PlayStation3 2011. For more information, visit www.rwc2011game.com and facebook.com\rwc2011game

First commentary on BBC

2011-09-05T20:58:00.003+01:00

Thanks for the tweets, texts and emails following my first foray into live radio commentary. I loved covering Newcastle Falcons V Bath Rugby at Kingston Park on Saturday, and fingers crossed BBC Bristol will have me back soon!

Dave Attwood: "I'm not going to try and be the next Danny Grewcock"

2011-09-02T11:07:00.003+01:00

Dave Attwood’s dog – recently back from an emergency dash to the vet – is giving him the runaround. “I’m sorry, I’ll have to call you back in ten minutes,” he apologises, an ever-so-slight hint of alarm in his West Country brogue.

Being given the runaround is not an experience to which the hulking 18st England lock is accustomed. Nor is the emotion of alarm one that you would readily associate with the man; it’s he who does the alarming.

But Attwood, who is starting out on a two-year deal at Bath, is more than a rugby tough nut. Beneath his massive frame is a thoughtful mind – and he has plenty to say.

Not that that should come as a surprise. As well as international honours, Attwood has an honours degree in philosophy and physics. And while we don’t have time to talk Descartes or Schrodinger’s Cat (although I suspect he’d take a question about either in his stride), Attwood covers plenty of ground – including his pubic area.

Firstly, I want to know whether he’s fit.

“The knee’s in good shape,” he says, referring to the problem that ended his hopes of a World Cup berth.

“But I’ve had something called osteitis pubis – an inflammation of the joint at the front of the pelvis – and that’s been the main issue.”

While this sounds like the sort of malady guaranteed to get schoolboys giggling in a lower-fifth biology class, it’s been far from a laughing matter for the second row.

Attwood picked up the condition while training with England during the Six Nations in February. It refused to go away and the problem came to a head in June.

“When England had my knee scanned they had a look at the pelvis as well and there was more of an issue there then initially thought,” he explains.

“The only solution is rest, and I’ve been limited in what I’ve been able to do.”

The condition has forced Attwood to train in fits and starts, with the inflammation flaring up whenever he overdoes things. But he remains cautiously optimistic of being fit enough to make his competitive debut for Bath in the season’s curtain-raiser at Newcastle on Saturday.

The 24-year-old moved to Bath in May following spells at West Country rivals Bristol and Gloucester. And with Bath stalwart Danny Grewcock having hung up his boots at the end of last season, much has been made of Attwood being the club’s next ‘enforcer’ – although he insists he will be his own man at The Rec.

“I’m a bit of a lump and I like to throw myself around a bit and people draw parallels,” he says. “The same sort of thing happened when I was called up to the England squad, with people comparing me to Martin Johnson. There is a character like that in most teams.

“But we’ve a new group of players at Bath and a slightly different game plan. There is a new way of thinking.

“I’m very much here to be Dave Attwood and the people running the club feel Dave Attwood will be someone who can help get the club going in the right direction.

“I don’t see it as me being the person who Danny was, because we are not the same player. It’s dangerous to start trying to live up to people’s expectations. I’m going to be who I am.”

There is a blend of defiance and clear-thinking in what Attwood says. There is an undertow of authority too – and he is frank that he has moved to Bath with the intention of establishing himself as one of the club’s leaders.

“As a reasonably young player just coming into the meat of his career, I want to feel like I am able to take the reins a bit,” he says. “I want to be somebody who other people in the squad look to.”

Away from the field, Attwood and his partner are setting about renovating a house on the west side of the city. The place, he admits, is currently a mess of knocked-through walls, but he has big plans. And while he is passionate about transforming his newly acquired bricks and mortar into something special, so too does he see the scope for a title-winning transformation at his new team.

“It’s an opportunity to make something happen,” he said.

“With Bath, there is something of the unknown and there is certainly a great expectancy about what this club can achieve. That’s very exciting for a young player.”

And then he’s off again, this time to a meeting at the club’s headquarters. Maybe, if his dog behaves, I’ll get on to Descartes the next time I speak to this renaissance man of English rugby.

Danny Cipriani - A Rebel who's found his cause?

2011-08-11T15:55:00.006+01:00

Danny Cipriani tells me why he believes English players should be encouraged to play in the southern hemipshere if they have international ambitions, not prohibited from doing so

Danny Cipriani won't be leaving the Melbourne Rebels anytime soon – and hopes to extend his stay in the southern hemisphere until at least 2013.

The gifted fly-half was linked to a possible move to Bath Rugby in May, when the English club's management revealed they had received an approach from Cipriani's representatives about a return to England.

But Cipriani, who had a chequered debut season with the Rebels, insists it was always his plan to remain in Australia.

The 23-year-old will run out at The Rec tomorrow night when the Super 15 side take on Bath in what will be the first of three pre-season friendlies for the English side.

And Cipriani, who has seven international caps to his name, says he isn't heaping pressure on himself as he prepares to play in front of an English crowd for the first time in a year-and-a-half.

"I can't live my life always feeling that I've got a point to prove," he told the Chronicle.

"At the minute, I'm very secure and happy in the place where I am.

"I've got some good memories of playing games in Bath. The Rec used to be quite a good stomping ground for Wasps when I was with them.

"But this is a new chapter of my life now and I'm thoroughly enjoying being with the Melbourne Rebels."

Cipriani dismissed out of hand the speculation that he had been interested in a move to Bath.

"It was always my intention to do my second year in Melbourne and there was never any doubt," he explained.

"That was just a media spin you guys like to put on things. The second year was always going to be the situation."

The mercurial outside half went further, indicating that he could well seek a third season in Australia.

"Next year, if the Rebels don't want to kick me out, then hopefully I'll stay for another year. We'll see what happens," said Cipriani.

"I'll take each moment as it comes and move forward. At the moment I'm enjoying Super 15 and loving the league."

Following next month's World Cup, England head coach Martin Johnson has said he will only select overseas- based players in "exceptional circumstances".

But Cipriani, who admits to already having one eye on the 2015 World Cup, believes he could yet force his way into England contention while playing in Australia.

Moreover, he reckons that playing against the Super 15s superstars every week is an ideal preparation for international rugby.

"England's selection rules may change," he said. "I may be able to stay out there and get the opportunity to play for England.

"I was speaking to the England management earlier in the season, and for me the Super 15 is the best league in the world.

"Before, when I used to play the All Blacks, South Africa and Australia, because you don't play against them week in week out, it was like 'Jeez, it's Schalk Burger, Dan Carter, Matt Giteau'.

"But if you are in the Super 15 and you're playing against them every week, some of them become friends and it becomes a regular thing.

"There isn't the same [daunting] effect when you play them, so I think it's been a good experience."

Cipriani had a rocky ride during his first year in Australia, with off-field disciplinary issues prompting the Rebels management to leave him behind during the South Africa leg of the competition.

But he believes he has learnt his lesson and emerged a maturer individual.

"I had a few mishaps early on," he admitted. "But for me, last year was a big turnaround.

"For the last part of the season I had to change a few things and focus, and I've done that, so hopefully I will reap the benefits next season."

Take part in the Rugby World Cup

2011-07-25T08:22:00.004+01:00

For any gamers out there, here's a sneak preview of the official game for the Rugby World Cup. Doesn't look bad, does it? I might have to boot up my games console for the first time since Sonic the Hedgehog.

RFU set Bath Rugby deadline for Stephen Donald appeal

2011-07-20T17:10:00.002+01:00

Bath Rugby have until August 12 to appeal against the RFU's decision to deny All Black Stephen Donald, pictured, the right to play in England.

Reports over the past week have suggested that it was the Home Office's UK Border Agency which turned down Bath's bid to bring the New Zealand star to The Rec next season.

But I have received confirmation that it was the RFU that made the decision on Friday.

It has also emerged that the rules that led to the RFU verdict were only implemented after Bath had begun discussions with Donald, who has 21 caps for his country.

The regulations came into effect on May 16 when they were signed off by the UKBA. They had been drafted by the RFU Governance Standing Committee, which has representatives from Premiership clubs.

An RFU spokesperson said today: "Stephen Donald failed to meet the RFU Governing Body Endorsement criteria to play rugby in England, in accordance with UKBA requirements, because he has not started a game for New Zealand within the past 15 months.

"Bath Rugby are entitled to appeal."

I understands that Donald is still keen on a move to the West Country, despite reports linking him to the Auckland Blues, and that Bath will appeal.

Any appeal is likely to focus on Donald's injury record, as well as his high profile.

The outside half required chest surgery in June 2010. If Bath can persuade the independent appeal panel that such an injury prevented him from playing his way into contention for a starting berth for the All Blacks, then the appeal – according to RFU regulations – would succeed. Donald also suffered broken vertebrae in March this year.

An appeal panel would also need to consider "whether the player is able to contribute significantly to the development of the game at the top level in England".

Given that Donald has been understudy to the best fly-half in the world, Dan Carter, for the past few years, Bath could well argue that he is of sufficient quality to "contribute significantly" to the profile and spectacle of the English game.

The Home Office suggested to me this week that the RFU decision had been made to protect the UK labour market.

A UK Border Agency spokesman said: "The responsibility rests with sports governing bodies such as the Rugby Football Union to endorse sponsorship applications from clubs and the application of each sportsperson wishing to enter the UK.

"This is because they are best placed to determine the skill level of a migrant and whether there will be an adverse impact on the resident labour market of their sport."

I understand that Donald had agreed terms and signed a contract with Bath following the expiration of his deal with Hamilton-based Super 15 side the Chiefs. He has been lined up as a replacement for Springbok Butch James.

It is also understood that the senior management at Bath, who have not commented on any reports linking Donald to the club, had been aware that he needed both RFU endorsement and then migration clearance from the UKBA. The RFU endorsement rules require foreign players to be recent, full internationals.

Donald has made three appearances for the All Blacks in the past 15 months, but all from off the bench. Last month - after he had been linked to Bath - he was dropped from the New Zealand squad ahead of the World Cup

Sophie Barrett-Brown, a leading immigration expert with international sports law specialists Laura Devine, said Bath had no option but to request an appeal if the club wanted to persist in its bid for Donald.

If the appeal fails, then it could demand a judicial review but that could have huge financial ramifications.

"There has to be the governing body's endorsement, there is no way around that," said Barrett-Brown.

"Judicial review is the only potential way around it but that is costly and risky. If you are unsuccessful the costs of the other party can be awarded against you."

Should Bath call for a review, then the panel would comprise an independent chairman, an RFU representative and a Premiership Rugby representative.

The Southern Hemisphere loose forwards with their eyes on Bath

2011-07-19T08:12:00.003+01:00

Bath Rugby saw off a bid from arch rivals Leicester Tigers to secure the services of Springbok flanker Francois Louw, I can reveal.

But the South African flanker, pictured, says a "captivating" visit to Bath early this year made the choice between The Rec and Welford Road a straightforward one.

I exclusively revealed in January that Bath were interested in seven-cap Louw and we reported in April that a deal had been signed.

This week, following the conclusion of the Super 15 competition in the southern hemisphere, both Bath and Louw's hometown side, Cape Town-based Stormers/Western Province, confirmed the 6ft 4in blindside specialist would be moving to The Rec.

I can also reveal that another southern hemisphere loose forward, Julian Salvi, approached Bath with a view to returning to the West Country next season.

Brumbies openside Salvi enjoyed a spectacularly successful year at Bath in 2009-10 when he was named the club's best forward, and recently asked his agent to contact the Bath management to discuss the possibility of another spell at The Rec.

However, Bath's loose forward division was already full to capacity, with Louw and young openside Carl Fearns the new additions to a back row that already boasts Lewis Moody, Simon Taylor, Ben Skirving, Andy Beattie and exciting prospect Guy Mercer.

"Julian instructed me to get in touch with Bath first but unfortunately Bath were full," said Salvi's agent.

This week, it was announced Salvi would instead join Leicester on a two-year deal.

One man who is delighted to be heading to The Rec rather than Welford Road, however, is Louw.

"Playing overseas is always something I've wanted to do and Bath were the first club to approach me," he explained.

"When Bath flew me over for a visit, I was blown away by the ethos among the team and the whole set-up. It was all first class. And it was all in such a beautiful city. I was instantly captivated. What's not to like?

"It was a tough decision to leave Western Province, but easy in the sense that Bath had created such a great impression.

"There were a couple of other interested clubs. Leicester were top of the Premiership and that created a pull, but Bath was always the club for me.

"It's important to be at a club that's going forward, and I could see that was the case at Bath straight away."

The 26-year-old, who has penned a three-year deal with the club, says he is in for the long haul.

"When I sat down with Bath, I explained that I was fully committed and not just doing a little stint overseas," he said.

"I want to shape myself into a team and be part of a growing team going forward."

Louw, however, won't give up on his international ambitions while at Bath. He has been named in South Africa's provisional World Cup squad and is likely to join the club following the conclusion of the competition.

"If the opportunity comes up to play for my country [while I am at Bath] then I would play in a heartbeat," he said.

"Bath know about my commitment to South Africa and my willingness to represent them."

Blood, sweat and beers - and yoga

2011-06-30T10:27:00.003+01:00

Yoga in the grounds of an immaculately maintained 120-acre estate. Welcome to pre-season training, Bath Rugby style.

The bulk of the Bath squad are now nearing the end of their second week of summer training – and there are still nine weeks to go before the first game of the campaign.

With such a long pre-season stretching ahead of them, the key for the strength and conditioning experts who lead such training is to ensure that a sense of tedium doesn’t creep in.

Flipping tyres, pushing sledges and hitting scrum machines are necessary elements in any pre-season programme – there’s no escaping the hard graft – but they cannot be the only ingredients.

To avert a sense of groundhog day, a few novelties have to be thrown in. On Tuesday afternoon, it was yoga time for some of the squad. Lycra, I believe, was optional.

Not that it’s all been about adopting the lotus and the downward-facing dog at Farleigh House.

Lock Stuart Hooper admitted the squad was, at times, being subjected to a whip- cracking regime of blood, sweat and tears.

“There hasn’t been much blood so far, there’s been a fair amount of sweat and no doubt there’s been a few tears in the evening when people have got home!” he said.

“It’s been hard but then it wouldn’t be a good pre-season if it wasn’t hard.”

The art of combining the nitty gritty with the refreshingly unusual is something Premiership champions Saracens have excelled at of late.

Whether it’s trips to German beer festivals or a couple of days with the Miami Dolphins, the management at Sarries know that a few non-traditional stimuli are needed to keep a squad on its toes, cohesive and hungry.

Bath appreciate this, too. Last season, there were sessions with firefighters at Bristol Airport, pictured, and an afternoon of swinging from trees.

More of this may prove a wise investment. As Sarries have shown, blood, sweat and beers really can work.

The Socialist Republic of the Premiership

2011-06-17T13:10:00.004+01:00

My musings on Gloucester shareholder Tom Walkinshaw's declaration that Premiership Rugby has its roots "somewhere in socialism"

Those volatile elements, sport and politics, need to be handled carefully whenever there's the slightest whiff that they might be about to combine. Otherwise there can be an unholy combustion.

Inevitably, the debate over the impending increase of the Premiership salary cap has generated a political debate with a small 'p'. Some clubs want it, others aren't so keen. One club has x agenda, another has y agenda.

Such internal politics are bound to occur within Premiership Rugby, the organisation which comprises the top dozen English sides.

What isn't inevitable is the manner in which certain clubs chose to publicly vent their views on the matter.

Ryan Walkinshaw, a major shareholder at Gloucester and the son of former owner Tom, this week gave a revealing interview which was as frank as it was engaging.

Walkinshaw clearly has a passion for the game that rivals his father's and the 23-year-old's views on its future are both well articulated and, in many cases, plausible.

But one of his remarks will no doubt prompt a few raised eyebrows.

"The whole idea of Premiership Rugby as a body has a base somewhere in socialism, in that we are all in it together, for the good of the sport."

During my time as an amateur player, and during my time as a rugby writer, I have to say I haven't had that many discussions about socialism. So it was intriguing to discover that one of the biggest players in the domestic game believes aspects of English professional rugby have their roots in Das Kapital and The Communist Manifesto.

I can understand Walkinshaw's sentiments – English clubs do, to a degree, need to co-operate for the good of the game – but the problem is that the game is not played in an English bubble. There is Europe to worry about, too.

Holding back other English clubs because you don't have the money that they have (as Gloucester seem to want to do) might serve your self-interest but it will have the wider effect of harming English clubs' prospects on the European stage.

In that regard, Walkinshaw's proposals are inward-looking and redolent of a 'closed shop' mentality. That attitude won't help an English club lift the Heineken Cup. And would that be "for the good of the sport"?

All Black Donald fits the bill for Bath Rugby chairman Craig

2011-06-09T08:42:00.006+01:00

Bath Rugby have the signature of their new fly half and sources suggest it's All Black Stephen Donald, although there is no confirmation from the club. This column, taken from today's Bath Chronicle, explains why Donald and not Danny Cipriani fits chairman Bruce Craig's vision for the club.

A lot was made of what a physically intimidating specimen Butch James was when he played in the Premiership.

But it seems that the man who is poised to replace the sturdy South African in the number ten shirt at The Rec could be even more, well, butch.

While there is no official word from Bath Rugby, it seems that All Black Stephen Donald, pictured, is likely to be the man who, barring any last-minute hitches, will be pulling the strings at fly-half next season.

As mentioned in last week’s Chronicle, sources indicate that Donald is the man likely to become Bath’s stand-off for the 2011-12 campaign and beyond.

Donald would be a good fit at Bath, not only because of his 6ft 3in frame but because of his reputation as a selfless, hard-working team player.

In an interview with the Chronicle in April, Bath chairman Bruce Craig articulated a vision for the sort of culture he wanted to foster.

In it, he emphasised how important he regarded the chemistry that pervaded a rugby club.

“If you look at the likes of Toulouse, Munster, Leinster and Perpignan, there is a passion, fervour and a willingness on the pitch to almost die for the shirt,” he said.

“You can’t bring in journeymen to do that. That’s one of the things we’re working on. The chemistry is very important.”

Across the Super 15 and in the All Blacks camp, Donald commands respect as a committed, grafting figure – an axis around which the rest of a side can revolve.

He may not bring the heart-in-mouth antics of a Quade Cooper and may have been forced to play understudy to Dan Carter for the All Blacks.

However, as a wise distributor and a reliable place-kicker he would be a wise investment, particularly if he arrives at Bath on a long-term contract.

Sources suggest that Donald would remain at The Rec on a deal until 2014. That would certainly remove him from the ‘journeyman’ category and, at 27 years of age, Bath could quite reasonably expect to get some of the best years of his career out of him.

A fortnight ago, I revealed Danny Cipriani’s representatives had approached Bath.

But under Craig’s vision, Donald is a far better fit.

Photo by Steve Haag/Back Page Sport

Excuse me while I get my trumpet out for a second

2011-06-03T10:49:00.006+01:00

Yesterday, I was chuffed to be named Sports Journalist of the Year at the EDF Energy South West Media Awards for the second year on the spin. I'm still chuffed today, actually, although my parade was marginally rained on when my four-year-old told me at bed time last night that she "didn't want to be a journalist" when she grew up and that she "wasn't proud" of daddy. In such circumstances, you'll hopefully forgive me the vainglory of posting a link about my modest triumph...
Self-congratulatory link one and self-congratulatory link two

Changes to the Premiership salary cap could create a two-tier league - but change was the only option

2011-06-03T10:30:00.007+01:00

Have the turkeys voted for Christmas? The unanimous support for the changes to the Premiership's salary cap took me by surprise, as I can only see the league's less wealthy clubs suffering as a result. But perhaps they have been motivated by a commendable spirit of altruism... Here's my weekly column for The Bath Chronicle on the issue

There is now no question that Bath Rugby have become a major force when it comes to running the domestic game.

The announcement by Premiership Rugby last week that the salary cap is to be modified is a victory for the club's negotiating powers behind the scenes.

Less than a year ago, Bath chief executive Nick Blofeld and others began the task of reviewing the cap as part of a Premiership Rugby initiative.

Now, following the unanimous support for the review's findings, Bath have got pretty much what they want – albeit the changes will not take full effect until the 2012-13 season.

In essence, the cap will be lifted to £4.5 million, with clubs also free to pay whatever they want for one player whose wages will fall outside the cap.

As events in Zurich have shown in recent days, the internal politics of sporting organisations can be unsavoury, bitchy and shady.

But Premiership Rugby's negotiations over the cap changes appear to have been a polite Georgian tea party compared with FIFA's bun fight.

Ever since chairman Bruce Craig bought the club last April, Bath have made cogent arguments about why the English club game would suffer in Europe unless the cap was raised or modified.

It is a sign of Bath's clout and astuteness that they have negotiated their way to a settlement which gives them the power to deepen their squad with top drawer stars. That will apply to other clubs with deep pockets too, though, such as Northampton.

But will the changes herald the beginning of a two-tier Premiership, with the wealthy clubs leaving their poorer cousins behind?

As a number of Bath supporters have said to me, the likes of Newcastle and Sale voting for the cap changes is akin to turkeys voting for Christmas.

It is inconceivable that they will be able to afford the cap-exempt players which Bath, Saracens et al are likely to fly in.

But the English Premiership does not operate in a vacuum, and it would seem that the less wealthy clubs have recognised that. If the English game is to maintain its profile, its reputation and its ability to compete in Europe, then these changes are necessary, even if there is the danger of a financial elite emerging.

Read my interview with Bath CEO Nick Blofeld on the impact of the changes to the cap.

Cipriani seeks return to Premiership rugby

2011-05-19T09:02:00.007+01:00

It's looked likely for some time, and today it looks close to a dead cert: Danny Cipriani will be leaving the Melbourne Rebels soon.
A story I have broken today reveals that representatives of the unpredictable fly-half have contacted Bath Rugby with a view to returning to the English Premiership. Bath aren't particularly interested, stressing that Cipriani "is not top of their list", but it's clear that the gifted but troubled stand-off is looking for an exit from Australia, less than halfway through his two-year deal.
The thing is, with all his off-field shenanigans, who will touch him? Wasps director Lawrence Dallaglio has hinted that the London side would consider taking him back, but it would be a gamble. As Cipriani has proved in Melbourne, he can rub team-mates up the wrong way, and Wasps - who are in as fragile a state as they have ever been in the professional era - can't afford any more boat-rocking.
So, who is top of the list at Bath? Dan Carter was clearly the ultimate target, as the All Black admitted today. And with Morne Steyn ruling himself out, and with Berrick Barnes and Quade Cooper signing extended deals with the Australian Rugby Union, many of the prize inside backs of the modern game are now unavailable. But Carter's cover in the Kiwi squad, Stephen Donald, still appears to be undecided about his post-World Cup future. And given that all the signals are that Bath are after a player who will be involved in the RWC, Donald would appear to be very much in the mix.

Dan Carter, Quade Cooper or Barry John?

2011-05-04T15:01:00.001+01:00

Watch the fly-half rumour mill spin at Bath Rugby

Francois Louw exclusive - another Springbok on his way to the West Country

2011-04-05T16:40:00.007+01:00

My ventures into the blogosphere have been curtailed of late due to a book deadline and an outbreak of technical incompetence. But in case you missed it, I had an exclusive on Springbok Francois Louw moving to Bath Rugby from Super 15 high-fliers the Stormers, see
The Bath Chronicle and SArugby.com.
This has been in the offing for some time too, see my earlier postings
Picture: Steve Haag, Backpage Sport

Steve Meehan's exit - was it inevitable once McGeechan arrived?

2011-04-05T16:15:00.002+01:00

It may not have been a collision course but it was always going to be a path fraught with obstacles.

When Bath brought in Sir Ian McGeechan over the summer, the issue of how the coaching legend would work alongside Steve Meehan was on every supporter's lips. Would it be a dream team, or would it be a recipe for friction?

As it happens, the two have muddled through, just as Bath have muddled through so far this season.

But muddling through and rubbing along just aren't good enough for a team with such high ambition.

Head coach Meehan ruled the roost at Bath for four seasons before McGeechan arrived. Taking more of a back seat – or at least losing the right to have the final say – was never going to be easy to stomach and a man of McGeechan's experience and pedigree was only ever going to want to call the shots.

Ever since then – slowly but surely – McGeechan has assumed an increasingly tight grip on playing matters at the club.

Less than ten weeks into the season, McGeechan's title was changed from performance director to director of rugby and, for the first time, chief executive Nick Blofeld spelt out the chain of command – Meehan reported to McGeechan.

That clarification was needed because players, including skipper Luke Watson, had alluded to an underlying uncertainty over exactly what McGeechan's role was and how it fitted alongside Meehan's.

Unfortunately, that change of title did not end the uncertainty.

Privately, the odd player has admitted that there have been too many voices at training. One coach in one ear, another coach in the other.

By the turn of the year, McGeechan was taking a lead in many training sessions, cultivating a greater emphasis on forward-based play.

The game was up a week last Monday when Meehan did not attend a training session. Instead, he was in the meeting with Blofeld that would result in their decision to go their separate ways.

The head coach has been gradually eclipsed by McGeechan as the season has worn on. That is a rather sad way for the Australian's fifth year at the club to peter out – but what an eventful previous four years he had at Bath.

Meehan assumed the hot seat when the club was in a state of flux. The 'ten-man rugby' of the John Connolly era had left Bath a tedious spectacle and Brian Ashton was poached by England before he had time to get his feet under the table.

As a relative unknown, Meehan arrived at The Rec fresh from a successful spell at Stade Francais, where he had worked as assistant coach to first Nick Mallett and then Fabien Galthie.

And he sought to inject a spot of Gallic flair into Bath's plodding play. Under his tutelage, two of the club's – and the Premiership's – most devastating young ball-carriers, Matt Banahan and Nick Abendanon, quickly came to the fore.

Meehan put his side on an upward curve, taking them to the final of the European Challenge Cup in his first season and winning it the next.

Guided by World Cup-winning Springbok fly-half Butch James – the club's biggest signing for years – Meehan developed an expansive, enthralling "high risk, high reward" style of play.

Meehan's side went close to pulling off a major Heineken Cup upset in 2009 when they came within a whisker of beating Leicester in an away quarter-final. Three successive league play-off spots in 2008, 2009 and 2010 also cemented Bath's reputation as consistent title contenders – but they never quite managed to make the next step from contenders to finalists.

After Blofeld was appointed as Bath's new CEO two years ago, he was quick to praise Meehan's attacking guile.

"The biggest compliment I can pay Steve is to express my admiration at Bath's ability to unlock defences," Blofeld told me.

"It's incomparable – and that's the most important part of rugby."

But for all the importance of slicing defences open, there remained a lingering sense that Bath lacked the winner's mentality of a Leicester. They were the Premiership's pretty boys but needed to know when to play ugly.

To his credit, Meehan solidered on through some very dark days indeed, operating under high levels of stress. The opening months of last season must have left him pining for his native Gold Coast.

In the aftermath of a season that saw Bath lose five senior players to drug allegations, the squad was riven by discord. Bath struggled to find their feet but, when they finally did, they set off at 100mph.

There may have been a few whispers about Meehan's man-management techniques but the way the 2009-10 season was transformed was a remarkable and defining moment of his tenure.

Smart and wry, Meehan is the longest-serving head coach in the Premiership and with five years at the helm (or four, if you exclude this one) he's arguably had a fair crack of the whip.

But it has not been a happy finale for Meehan, who has seen his power at the club gradually ebb away over the season.

Even so, the club is doing the right and proper thing in keeping him on until the end of the season. Such a servant deserves the dignity of an orderly departure.

Olly's wry wit is perfect tonic after double leg break

2011-03-11T10:14:00.002Z

Its nickname may be Castle Grim but the atmosphere at Kingsholm on Saturday was anything but.

You have to hand it to the Gloucester fans – they certainly know how to create a buzz fit for a derby.

Whether you're a home fan, a visiting supporter or a neutral, you know that five minutes before kick-off – with The Shed warming to its task – you'll be getting a fizz of expectation surging through your central nervous system. Or something like that, anyway.

On Saturday, however, the Gloucester crowd proved there is more to it than the ability to sing very loudly and get under the skin of the opposition. For just a minute or two, Kingsholm discovered its sensitive side, maybe even its soul.
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When Olly Barkley was carried off the pitch on a stretcher in the 67th minute, his leg in a splint and a laughing-gas mask over his mouth, it was a pitiful sight.

Of course, you would expect any crowd with a crumb of humanity to offer polite, sympathetic applause in such a case. But a few hardened Cherry and White supporters went further, rising from their seats to applaud the man who has something of a history at Kingsholm.

Some were a little self-conscious as they got to their feet but there was a touching sense of the West Country divide being temporarily healed.

Barkley didn't much take to Gloucester during his year at Kingsholm in 2008-09, nor did Gloucester take that warmly to him.

But I think The Shed holds some respect for Barkley over the honest way he extricated himself from his two-year Gloucester deal, rather than sitting out a second year in a stew of discontent.

There was plenty of baiting on and off the pitch on Saturday and no shortage of handbags being swung but the moment of unity brought about by Barkley's injury was a moment to remember.

That, even more than a seven-try, 56-point match, was proof that the spirit of rugby is very much alive in the West Country.

For Barkley to suffer another leg break just a year-and-a-half after his first fracture is a cruel blow indeed. But he's showing every sign of adopting the kind of attitude needed to weather such a set-back.

Once Barkley finally received his morphine at hospital, he was quickly making wry observations about life in hospital via his Twitter web page.

That sense of humour will stand him in good stead during the long road of recovery. Good luck, Olly.

Super 15 makes summer rugby a hot proposition

2011-03-11T10:07:00.003Z

I don't know if you saw any Super 15 rugby at the weekend. Luckily, I did. It was a treat.

On a bad day, the southern hemisphere competition can appear like a contest of headless chickens. On a good day, the skills on show leave you wishing you lived on the other side of the world.

Tha handling skills, in particular, are something else. The number of implausible off-loads, deft basketball-style lobs and dexterous inside pops over the weekend was a marvel.

The firm pitches help, of course – there are no mud baths for these chaps to contend with.

If ever there was an advert for summer rugby, this is it.

Life's a Beech at Bath

2011-03-11T10:00:00.003Z

Loosehead prop Charlie Beech will be moving from London Wasps to Bath Rugby this summer. He is Sir Ian McGeechan's son-in-law and McGeechan is, of course, Bath's director of rugby.
But it looks like he'll be getting a far from comfortable ride.

Marksman Olly Barkley could give Gloucester the bullet

2011-03-03T16:42:00.006Z

Olly Barkley is in outrageously good form with the boot at the moment, with 15 successful strikes on the bounce. Those efforts haven't gone unnoticed by that big beast of the Bath pack, Danny Grewcock.
If things come down to a kicking duel on Saturday when Bath travel to Gloucester, then the visitors could have the edge; Gloucester fly-half Nicky Robinson has a success rate that's 20 per cent lower than Barkley's.
Read my column in this week's Bath Chronicle here.

"Butch should start at 10 for Boks" says Watson

2011-03-02T11:26:00.003Z

Here's a bit I did for SARugby.com - Butch James is backed to be Springboks' starting fly-half for the World Cup by club-mate Luke Watson

The tale of Meehan and Sir Ian

2011-02-22T10:14:00.005Z

Here, belatedly, is my column from The Bath Chronicle, published on February 17. I'm sticking it on my blog now because Bath's spanking of Northampton on Saturday only served to underscore some of the points. Cheers.

When it was confirmed over the summer that Sir Ian McGeechan would be coming to Bath Rugby, an obvious question was how he would fit in with the existing coaching staff.

Or, rather, how the existing coaching staff would fit around him.

McGeechan has accomplished so much in so many places that his appointment by new owner Bruce Craig got plenty of tongues wagging about how exactly he would work alongside head coach Steve Meehan, a man who had put his individual stamp on the club over the previous three seasons.

I think the club would probably admit there has been a certain 'suck it and see' aspect to the way McGeechan has worked alongside the existing coaching set-up and it's clear his role has evolved since he joined.
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When he arrived, his official title was performance director and, while both McGeechan and the club could furnish reasonable explanations of what that role entailed, in my mind at least there remained a few little question marks about the command structure and how exactly Meehan and McGeechan would dovetail.

At the end of November, that title was tweaked by chief executive Nick Blofeld to the more conventional one of director of rugby.

While the club made little of that change of title at the time, saying it was done merely for clarification, I think the more traditional split between director of rugby and head coach has helped McGeechan settle into the club – and the club settle into life with McGeechan.

There is now a clearer, more explicit chain of command off the pitch, and on it there is a greater sense of purpose. Since that change of title, McGeechan has rolled up his sleeves with the pack and, alongside forwards coach Martin Haag, has wrought something of a transformation.

Friday's away win at Sale underscored how the Bath pack is on top of its game again, although the real test will come when the grisly Northampton forwards rumble onto The Rec.

I've also detected a greater sense of assurance and quiet purpose emanating from both McGeechan and Meehan in recent weeks, as though they have a better handle on things and know precisely where they're going.

Results help lift the mood, of course, and Bath have won six out of their last seven games. Even so, I sense the greater sense of assurance stems from more than just results.

I suppose the lesson to learn is that, even the best in the business can take time to bed in.

And that can apply to players too. Bath back-rowers Luke Watson, Lewis Moody and Simon Taylor are superb players and have put in strong individual performances at times.

But, as Lee Mears pointed out this week, they are all in their first full season at the club and it takes time for players to build up an understanding of how their team-mates play.

Luckily for Bath, that understanding seems to be flourishing at just the right time for a tilt at the play-offs.

Demi-god, prodigal son or rock star? Butch gets a special reception in SA

2011-02-03T09:13:00.006Z

Bath and Springbok fly-half Butch James flew back to South Africa this week for his wedding. But it turns out he had more than one pressing engagement, with the World Cup-winner also attending a glitzy press conference where it was announced he would be joining the Golden Lions in May. Here's my take on the razzmatazz...

Butch James certainly had one heck of a stag party.
Most of us would settle for a night out with the boys – Butch was
seemingly granted demi-god status by a grateful nation.
The South Africa fly-half flew back to his native country earlier this week in readiness for his wedding on Saturday. While out there, he became caught up in a publicity stunt that would make Phineas Barnum and Max Clifford blush.
It has been an open secret for some time that James will be heading back to South Africa at the end of this season for a final hurrah with the Johannesburg-based Golden Lions.
On Tuesday, the Lions ‘unveiled’ their new signing. This required James to fly into a Joburg airport on a private jet supplied by one of the Lions’ minted owners.
Stairs were duly rolled up to the doors and Butch descended to the Tarmac amid a chorus of sycophantic applause from men in blazers.
In front of him was a sea of paparazzi, all desperate to capture this happy day.
I do not know if there was a marching band present.
It was like a prodigal son returning from a self-imposed exile. Or a minor royal visiting some neglected corner of the empire. Or a rock star
returning for a ‘Welcome Home’ gig. Or a bit of all three.
Verily, the reception that greeted Pope Benedict on these shores in September had fewer bells and whistles.
But it made James look like a pawn in the Lions’ publicity machine.
Especially as he was wearing a Golden Lions shirt with the number 10 on the back. With the name ‘James’ above it.
James was promptly shunted in front of the microphones. He
explained how one day he’d tell his children about how great it had been to be involved with such a club.
Butch James is an incredible specimen, a man of such super-human patience and dedication that he has bounced back from five knee reconstructions and two bust shoulders.
Most men would have given up competitive sport completely in the face of such serious injuries and long lay-offs, let alone continue to play at the pinnacle of the game.
More than any other player, he has shaped the way Bath have played over the past four years. His ingenuity and flamboyance on the pitch have made him a joy to behold on The Rec.
But I think the Lions have got a bit ahead of themselves here – and James has been dragged along.
James remains a Bath player until the end of the season and it’s Bath who are paying his not inconsiderable wages at the moment.
Getting James to put on a Golden Lions shirt when he still has more than three months at Bath is a touch previous, in my book.
But at least the shenanigans in Johannesburg show what passion the South Africans have for their rugby – and for James.
And I suppose that in turn should make us grateful that we’ve had him plying his trade at The Rec for the past four years.

Bendy's on the straight and narrow

2011-01-26T16:08:00.004Z

I've long championed the cause of Bath full-back Nick Abendanon. And in a week when the 24-year-old has been called up to the England Elite Player Squad, there is therefore the opportunity for this blog to let out a small cheer.
Sure, Abendanon only got the call after Delon Armitage (both pictured) threw a strop in front of a doping official and got himself banned.
But Abendanon has his foot in the door now - the first step in anyone establishing themselves in any walk of life. The question is, does Abendanon have it in him to get himself over the threshold and settle in at England’s 6 Nations base at Pennyhill Park in Surrey?
I believe he does. The South Africa-born flyer used to be known for two things: his elusive, weaving running, and his unfortunate capacity to make daft decisions at crucial moments.
Fortunately, the elusive running bit still applies. And while the odd decision can still creep into his game, Abendanon is a far more consistent specimen than he was two years, or even a year, ago.
His defensive play is also under-estimated. For a relatively small guy, he punches a couple of divisions above his weight.
There are two recent examples of that, both in the Heineken Cup. Away against Aironi, Abendanon decked the rotund Nick Williams with such technically superb savagery that the Number 8 was escorted off the pitch to receive medical treatment. On Saturday, in Biarritz, he felled the marvellously named centre Marcelo Bosch when only a perfectly executed tackle would do if a try was to be prevented.
But apart from his own form, there are two other reasons why Abendanon should prosper.
Going into the World Cup in September, England team manager Martin Johnson wants versatile players in his squad who can cover more than one position. It is to Abendanon’s significant advantage that he can play on the wing as effectively as he can at 15.
Over the summer, his exertions for the England Saxons in the Churchill Cup - when he appeared on the wing - won him the Player of the Tournament Award.
His ability to play anywhere in the back three is a big plus-point, just as it is in Matt Banahan’s favour that he can play at centre as well as on the wing.
The presence of Banahan and other Bath players in the EPS should also work in Abendanon’s favour.
With Banahan and Shontayne Hape next to him, it will be like playing in the Bath back line. Things augur well for Bendy.

Should English clubs think twice before recruiting abroad?

2011-01-14T10:10:00.005Z

On Thursday I broke a story about Springbok Francois Louw being lined up by Bath Rugby to replace the departing Luke Watson.
The story, it seems, is gaining traction in South Africa. As I write, it's the lead on www.sarugby.com.
But, as somebody points out in the comments section on that website, aren't we capable of producing loose forwards of sufficient quality in England?
Bath are not short of young, up-and-coming back-rowers, with home-grown starlets Guy Mercer and Josh Ovens leading the charge. I can't help feeling that the club's insistence on travelling around the southern hemisphere in search of an 'international-calibre' star to replace Watson is a kick in the teeth for these young guys, who have been knocking on the door for a good while now.
Moreover, an all-international back row can be a dangerous thing in World Cup year. Should Bath sign Louw and should Simon Taylor get a recall from Scotland - as his form merits - then Bath's entire first-choice back row of Moody, Taylor, Louw could be away at the start of the 2011-12 season.
Then the home-grown lads really will have to stand up and be counted.

Picture: Francois Louw, front, and Luke Watson during their days playing together for Western Province and The Stormers. Credit: Steve Haag, Back Page Sport SA

When the human being eclipses the sportsman

2011-01-14T09:59:00.004Z

Sports interviews, particularly in football or boxing, are all too often either choreographed hype or bland platitudes.

Personality is hijacked to make way for some PR message and that message often boils down to meaning the square root of sod all.

Earlier this week, however, I was fortunate enough to interview England's Shontayne Hape. By his own admission, the Bath centre has hit a sticky patch.

He has come in for plenty of stick of late and while he has been way off his best, some of the criticism has smacked, frankly, of the amnesiac.

What most impressed me about Hape, pictured, on Tuesday was his honesty. So often the sportsman can eclipse the human being. Occasionally, we need to be reminded that the human being bit comes first.

South African knight rides to the rescue at The Rec - again

2011-01-05T12:32:00.009Z

Former Springbok scrum-half Michael Claassens has today signed a deal that will keep him at Bath Rugby until 2013. Here's my take on the signing. For an interview with Claassens and more of my thoughts, see The Bath Chronicle on Thursday, January 6.

A very good history of Bath during the rugby club’s heyday has recently been published. But when the final word comes to be written on Bath Rugby in the 21st century, it will be a modest South African who couldn’t speak English when he arrived in the city who should receive a chapter all of his own.
For the second time in his career, Michael Claassens rode to Bath Rugby’s rescue today and restored a sense of stability.
A lot of things feel like they are up in the air at The Rec at the moment.
Club skipper Luke Watson has announced he is heading back to South Africa at the end of the season, while World Cup-winner Butch James has also indicated he’d be keen to pack his bags swiftly enough should Bath release him from his contract. Couple that with the speculation that’s been doing the rounds about a new coaching team being lined up by owner Bruce Craig, and the storm clouds of uncertainty were beginning to look ominously heavy.
This morning, Claassens’ peroxide blond locks pierced those clouds when the club announced the scrum-half had signed a new two-year deal.
After four years at The Rec, Claassens could have left Bath at the end of this season owing the club and its supporters precisely nothing.
It was a bold enough move for the Kroonstad-born former Springbok to bring his non-English speaking wife over here four years ago. By upping sticks and leaving South Africa, the eight-cap international was effectively turning his back on further appearances in the gold and green, and taking a step into the unknown.
What Claassens has delivered for Bath since then is season after season of graft, spark and honesty.
A year-and-half ago, this softly spoken gent was handed a poisoned chalice when he was asked to captain the club following the summer’s drugs scandal.
In those circumstances, the captaincy was always going to be a thankless task - but Claassens stepped up and bore it all with an unceasing attitude of composure, politeness and unblinking stoicism. And by the end of the campaign, after a torrid beginning, Bath were playing the most attractive rugby of the Premiership.
With his best mate and half-back partner Butch James more than likely to be heading home at the end of the season, it would have been the easy option for Claassens to follow him back to South Africa,
That he isn’t, but is once again sticking by Bath during a tough period, should be a source of gratitude for every Bath supporter. If you’ve any festive port left over, then you should be preparing a toast.

Gospel truth: Watson leaves Bath to pursue a goal broader than just rugby

2010-12-14T11:51:00.005Z

Luke Watson told me that leaving Bath Rugby for a return to his native Eastern Province was the hardest decision he'd ever had to make. Here I give my take on the Bath skipper's impending departure.

On Sunday, the day before Luke Watson (pictured) announced he was to leave Bath Rugby and return to South Africa, he was on his knees.

"Making the biggest decisions in life requires a lot of prayer!" he said on his Twitter page before quoting Scripture, Luke's Gospel appropriately: "But Jesus often withdrew to lonely places and prayed."

Luke Watson is a Christian first, a rugby player second (or possibly third, what with his expanding family). This I learnt almost exactly a year ago when I conducted my first interview with him following his arrival at The Rec from Western Province.
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"My faith is the foundation of my life," he told me back then, that fierce, uncompromising look in his eyes. "I put everything behind that.

"When I had the opportunity of Bath coming up I realised that this is where God wanted me to be, that there was more than just rugby here – that God wanted to do a massive thing not only within the club but within the city."

But the very thing that Watson believes brought him to Bath last November – his faith – has now guided him back to South Africa. His home town of Port Elizabeth, to be precise.

No doubt many secular Bath fans will find this hard to understand – and hard to stomach, too – but then the ex-Springbok has never been an easy player to understand. Never predictable, never boring, and always – you feel – just a few seconds away from making a decision that will wrong-foot a lot of people.

But the timing of the announcement is curious. Watson is not a man who does life in half measures, so why decide to leave Bath with a definite sense of 'mission unaccomplished'?

He only arrived at The Rec 13 months ago and was made captain in August. Surely he hasn't given himself enough time to accomplish the "massive" things he was so excited about this time last year. He's only played 29 games for Bath, and is leaving for a second-tier side.

Following the arrival of new owner Bruce Craig in April, Bath will have hoped that in Watson they'd found the right skipper to take them into their bold, cash-rich new era. The expectation will have been that Watson would provide a firm spine around which a new squad would develop.

That he has opted not to renew his contract will therefore have caused disappointment among the management, but – all things considered – I can't say I'm surprised Watson will be on his way in June.

I had heard in November that Eastern Province were interested in luring him back home on a better wedge than most people would expect from a second division side.

Then there's his South African wife to think of. She is due to give birth in early spring – a not insignificant variable in the Watsons' should-we- stay-or-should-we-go equation.

Life without a cause and a vision is, for Watson, a life not worth living. The vision he will take to Eastern Province is to build a fledgling club – of which his father, Cheeky, happens to be president – into a major power in the southern hemisphere game.

His faith is inextricably linked to a sense of social justice. Many of South Africa's black players have grown up in Eastern Province and Watson views a return to his home town as an opportunity to take the 'transformation' of a previously white-dominated game to a wider rugby audience.

But before all that, Watson has a tonne of work to do at Bath – 19 regular-season games, injury permitting.

And if he can bring to those games the kind of ebullience and leadership he showed against Leicester Tigers earlier this season at Welford Road, then that would be something every Bath Rugby fan could say 'Amen' to.

Ulster to bear the brunt of Moody's blues

2010-12-09T09:20:00.004Z

Lewis Moody says his frustration at England’s defeat to South Africa will be channelled into Bath’s Heineken Cup clash this weekend.
The England skipper and Red Rose team-mates Shontayne Hape, Matt Banahan and Davey Wilson are still smarting after the Autumn International series ended in defeat to the Springboks a fortnight ago.
Ulster will bear the brunt of that frustration, with Bath set to play the province at Ravenhill on Saturday in a match both sides must win if their European hopes are to remain alive.
“Coming back after the Autumn Internationals gives you more confidence as an individual,” Moody told me.
“But Shontayne, Banners and Davey, we all carry a fair amount of frustration following the defeat to South Africa, which is a game we know we could have won.
“I hope that frustration will be challenged into the Ulster game.”
Moody has a full house of silverware: a World Cup winner’s medal, along with multiple triumphs domestically and in Europe. But the flanker admits the Heineken Cup carries an intensity that rivals international games.
“It’s the biggest club competition you can be involved in and I’ve played in five Heineken Cup finals and won only two of them,” said the former Leicester Tiger. “I know how difficult it is to win.
“You come up against not only the best teams in Europe but probably the best teams in the world. If you pitted them against a lot of international sides a lot of those club teams would come off victorious.
“The levels of fitness, the speed the game is played at, the impacts - and the fact you can’t do as much analysis of the teams because you don’t play them week in, week out - all make the Heineken Cup particularly exciting.”

Raising the fear factor - by rewinding the clock

2010-12-02T16:45:00.003Z

So, the foundations have been dug but what will the new building materials be?

Bath Rugby's announcement this week that four forwards have extended their contracts is a solid base.

But there also needs to be some new faces – faces who will help build the Bath pack into a gruesome, fearsome monster.

How many top-flight packs fear the Bath tight five any more? Not many, I would wager. That's not to say the Bath pack isn't capable of great performances – remember that win against Wasps at Twickenham last April? The backs may have scored the tries but the forwards were a terrific, marauding mobile unit.

However, the Bath pack unquestionably currently lacks the 'stage presence' of, say, Saints or Leicester. There is no snarling Castrogiovanni or Mujati figure in the front row, while Danny Grewcock, who has just turned 38, is still intimidating as a ball-carrying lock but doesn't put divine fear into the opposition like he used to.

A case could be made for saying that the Bath pack has never been the same since Justin Harrison left at the end of the 2008-09 season, with his reputation in tatters after he admitted taking cocaine.

Harrison was a true Aussie sledger, a right old git on the pitch who was always stirring the opposition up into a veritable lather and the odd punch. He provided an aura of short-fused menace.

Strange thing was, he managed to blend that with real credibility as a leader – until he got caught with a Class A substance in his system.

Figures like Harrison can be tremendous motivators but their inherent inclination to self-destruct can ultimately make them more of a hindrance than a help.

This week, we give coverage in the Chronicle to a fantastic new book on Bath Rugby, After the Lemons. Among the most absorbing chapters is one on Roger Spurrell, pictured.

Arriving at The Rec in the year that I was born, Spurrell became the kind of steely skipper that made Bath such a gruesome prospect for so many clubs during the glory days.

Okay, so he was a flanker rather than in the tight five, but he surely captures the kind of over-my-dead- body mentality that Bath would do well to tap into.

I suggest leaving a copy in the changing room before the next game at The Rec.

Butch, KP and the Ashes

2010-11-25T15:28:00.001Z

When Bath Rugby fly-half Butch James, pictured, tunes in to watch the Ashes, there's one batsman in particular he'll be keeping an eye on.

As a schoolboy, James played in the same side as England's Kevin Pietersen – and even recalls appearing above the former skipper in the batting order.

The two were pupils at Maritzburg College in South Africa, although James was a couple of years above Pietersen.

"He was a good player but there was nothing back then to suggest he would go on to achieve what he has," said James, who kept wicket for his school before going on to represent his country at rugby.
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"I tried my hand at everything at school and it was only when I had finished high school at 18 that I decided that I really wanted to give rugby a go," he said. "It was between cricket and rugby."

Boks get a serious schooling in preparation

2010-11-25T15:26:00.000Z

Okay, so here's your starter for ten.

Which rugby team has a high performance centre, a biokineticist who ensures players are in peak condition, the latest video analysis at its disposal, a physiotherapist who is available daily and international coaches who are used on a consultancy basis?

It could be a Premiership club. But it's not even a senior club – it's a school.

To be precise, it's Maritzburg College in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. It's the school at which current Bath Rugby players Butch James and Pieter Dixon learnt the game. And it sounds like a young rugby player's dream.
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As the limping, tarnished Springboks prepare to hobble into Twickenham this weekend following their ignominious loss to Scotland and two failed drug tests, Maritzburg College is a reminder of just how seriously South Africa takes its rugby.

You know the college takes a professional approach to the game when its website states that the school is sponsored by the local Renault dealership.

Moreover, Maritzburg appointed a full-time rugby administrator in 2009. "His role," says the website "is to scout talent and to keep the school at the cutting edge of technology through video analysis and up-to-date coaching courses."

Reading that, you wouldn't fancy sending your 15-year-old son on his school rugby trip to KwaZulu-Natal, would you? Sounds like you'd be sending a lamb to the slaughter.

It makes a bit of a change to school rugby in my day. Our rugby master had once enjoyed some representative honours but his view of analysis was to scream at us whenever there was a knock-on. Similarly, I doubt he went on any sophisticated coaching courses, despite the school having a proud rugby tradition.

The tale of Maritzburg College's rugby department says much about how the game has developed in the past 20 years. I remember reading in Lawrence Dallaglio's autobiography how he was once forced to lug all his boarding school kit from one side of school to the other after being dropped off at the wrong end.

"That," he wrote, "was the only weights I did until the game went professional". Those aren't his exact words, but they capture the gist.

The 'strength and conditioning' culture of professionalism has now clearly filtered down to schools and Maritzburg College is evidently proud of the environment it fosters.

Its website continues: "Outside specialists are brought in regularly to address coaches on specific issues, whether from a rugby, fitness, conditioning, nutritional or refereeing perspective.

"Our High Performance Centre is run by a biokineticist, who ensures that systems are in place whereby boys are regularly monitored with regards to fitness and strength conditioning."

Almost as a cocky afterthought, it adds: "Mark Steele (Springbok conditioning coach and an Old Boy) has been used on a consultancy basis."

If those are the resources that go into a school rugby team, then imagine the resources the Springboks have at their disposal. The story of Maritzburg College is one that all England fans should bear in mind as South Africa arrive at HQ. These Springboks are serious about their rugger.

Come along to a Q&A with Luke Watson

2010-11-23T11:04:00.004Z

I'll be appearing alongside Bath Rugby captain Luke Watson, England World Cup winner Ben Kay and ESPN commentator Nick Mullins on the panel at a fans' Q&A on Friday, November 26.
The event, which is being organised by broadcaster ESPN, takes place at The Curfew Inn in Cleveland Place West, Bath, from 8pm.
Come along, have a pint, say hello and hear what Luke's got to say - he's always worth hearing!

Gobbledygook or genius?

2010-11-18T14:08:00.003Z

'Freedom within structure'. It sounds like middle-management gobbledygook, doesn't it? Or, even worse, like one of those slogans Big Brother's totalitarian regime issues in 1984.

But freedom within structure is now Martin Johnson's stated philosophy for the England rugby team. Speaking to centre Shontayne Hape, pictured, after England's spine-tingling triumph against the Aussies, he said: "The coaches have been talking about freedom within structure and know that if it's on, it's on. That's probably what caught Australia out at times."

All very nice. But what the Dickens does "freedom within structure" mean?

It's tempting to dismiss it as so much hot air, a bit like all those political slogans that go on about "liberty and equality". If you grant people freedom then they ain't going to remain equal for long. And by the same train of thought, if you grant a team a licence to be free, then they aren't going to keep their structure for any great length of time.

But that response is a bit facetious and is refuted by the way England played on Saturday.

Team manager Martin Johnson has not cultivated a reputation as the profoundest of thinkers during his career on and off the pitch; he's the beetle-browed hard-man, not the beetle-browed thinker. But it may be that he's out-foxing plenty of people at the moment.

If you want a definition of Johnson's freedom within structure, then look at the first try England scored against the Wallabies.

The structure came from a succession of crash balls and the way the forwards piled in to secure a rapid recycling of possession. The freedom came in the way the forwards and backs off-loaded to one another once they sniffed a hole in the Wallaby defence.

Never mind about providing verbal definitions of freedom within structure. All you need to know about it was contained in that expertly executed try.

Could it soon be Bath time for Wallaby lock Chisholm?

2010-11-18T14:04:00.002Z

Here's an exclusive of mine published in today's Bath Chronicle

Experienced Australia international Mark Chisholm is being lined up by Bath Rugby as a muscular addition to the club's second row.

The Chronicle understands that negotiations with the 56-cap Wallaby are advanced, with the 29-year-old having visited Bath's Farleigh Hungerford headquarters for talks.

Sources say the 6ft 6in lock forward, who started for Australia in the 35-18 loss at Twickenham on Saturday, visited Farleigh House shortly after the Wallaby squad touched down in England ahead of the Investec Autumn International series.
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The Chronicle also understands that Bath have expressed an interest in signing Dave Attwood, Gloucester's Bristol-born lock. The 23-year-old made his England debut against New Zealand a fortnight ago.

"Signing Chisholm and Attwood would mean it was 'problem solved' for Bath in the second row," said a source close to the club. "But that's a lot of money."

With veteran lock Danny Grewcock retiring at the end of the season and promising 22-year-old Scott Hobson suffering with a long-term arm injury, the second row has been identified by the Bath management as a potential weak spot.

Cover has been provided this season in the form of seasoned Argentinian lock Ignacio Fernandez Lobbe and US Eagles skipper John van der Giessen, who are both on short-term contracts. But Bath are keen to secure top-drawer replacements on longer term deals sooner rather than later.

Chisholm and Attwood would fit the bill nicely. The former, who hails from Queensland like Bath head coach Steve Meehan, has a prolific try-scoring record for a lock, while the abrasive Attwood has been identified as a potential England 'enforcer' of the future.

Chisholm – reputed to have the biggest biceps in the Wallabies set up – started his career with Queensland Reds before joining the Canberra-based Brumbies in 2003, where he has remained ever since.

The virtues of life at The Rec may well have been extolled to him by club-mate Julian Salvi. Salvi returned to Canberra in the summer having enjoyed an eye-catching season at Bath, where he excelled at openside flanker and was named the club's Forward of the Season.

In his final interview before returning to his homeland, Salvi told the Chronicle of his fondness for Bath Rugby and his determination to return after a stint back in Australia. That enthusiasm for Bath will doubtless have been transmitted to rugby circles back in Canberra.

Chisholm, who has played Test rugby at blindside flanker as well as at lock, made his international debut against Scotland in 2004.

He made three appearances for Australia in the 2007 World Cup and any move to Bath is likely to occur in November after the 2011 World Cup in New Zealand.

Finnish rugby? Yes, it made me laugh too

2010-11-11T11:28:00.003Z

Here's my column from today's Bath Chronicle. Similar stuff can be read here.

Have you heard the one about the female American powerlifter, the useless Scandinavian rugby side and the England star who got locked in a chapel? Believe it or not, they all have Bath Rugby connections.

It's been something of a surreal week here at Bradshaw Towers, I can tell you. The usual pattern of matches, press conferences and interviews has been broken by a few welcome curveballs.

First, there was the peculiar vision that greeted me when I walked into GG's steakhouse next to The Rec following Bath Rugby's win over Cardiff Blues.

Full-back Jack Cuthbert could be seen posing for photographs next to a woman with the shoulders and biceps of David Flatman (see above right). It was like something from Greek mythology, akin to stumbling across some hybrid beast. The smiling ripped blonde, it turned out, was Liz Freel, a top powerlifter from the States who was in this neck of the woods for a competition at the University of Bath.

My requests to discover whether she's being lined up as front-row cover for David Wilson have so far been stonewalled, although I hear she's handy in the lineout.

Then came the call from the Bath Film Festival.

No, they don't want me to star in another film. But they did tell me about a quirky movie night involving the unlikely combination of a hapless Finnish rugby side and Phil de Glanville.

On Tuesday, the Little Theatre will screen a documentary called Freetime Machos. After the film, ex-Bath and England centre de Glanville will hold a question-and-answer session with the movie's director, Mika Ronkainen.

The film's premise – to follow the fortunes of the world's most northern rugby side – may not be the most instantly appealing but for anyone who's played in a league of whatever standard, there's bound to be something that resonates.

The documentary is billed as a comedy – inevitable, I suppose, when you mention the words 'Finland' and 'rugby' in the same sentence.

But if you fancy watching a quirky account of rugby and male friendship, then get down to the Little Theatre for 6.30pm on Tuesday evening.

Next up in my week of oddities was a briefly alarming telephone interview with Bath and England centre Shontayne Hape.

Speaking from England's training base at Pennyhill Park Hotel in Surrey, everything was fine and dandy until, with a hint of rising panic in his voice, Shontayne informed me he'd locked himself in a chapel. Not long after the line went dead.

I'm pleased to be able to report that communications were soon restored and the silly billy soon realised he wasn't stuck after all. Just don't come similarly unstuck against the Wallabies, Shontayne!

Tickets for Freetime Machos (certificate 15) are £8/£6 (concessions) or £11/£9 for the balcony and available in advance from the box office on 01225 463362 or 0871 902 5735.

The mysterious case of Butch James and the injury-prone gelding

2010-11-04T16:53:00.002Z

Over my mid-morning toast and Marmite, the following had me spluttering with the ferocity of Blackadder's General Melchett.

"Butch James yesterday confirmed he would be a force to be reckoned with at Riccarton."

Crikey, I thought, Butch is back from injury earlier than expected. I've missed a trick here.

The New Zealand Press Association story continued: "It will be a much fitter Butch James who treks south for a second bid on the New Zealand Cup in Christchurch next month."

The New Zealand Cup? Never heard of it.

Then the truth dawned. It turns out there's a horse called Butch James. An eight-year-old gelding, to be precise.

But then the story got even better. Apparently, old Butch was up against a horse that could easily be owned by Bath Rugby's chairman.

"Butch James loomed up outside Bruce Almighty," wrote the report ominously, before offering a more sober description of Butch's eventual victory.

There's obviously a metaphor in there somewhere but I'm not going to start making over-contrived analogies between racehorses and fly-halves (besides, I did that last season).

But given the injury travails our very own Butch has endured over the past two years, I couldn't help smiling at the remarks made by Adrian Bull, trainer of the equine Butch.

"We probably weren't fit enough last year," said Mr Bull. "This year he is."

I'm sure both Butch Jameses wish they could agree with that sentiment.

Should Moody be moved away from openside?

2010-11-01T16:02:00.004Z

This was written before Luke Watson sadly picked up his injury against Quins yesterday - but I thought I'd still post it, as I believe the point still holds.

When you get praise from Leicester boss Richard Cockerill for your play in the forwards, you know you're doing something right.

Bath Rugby skipper Luke Watson was the recipient of such praise after Saturday's loss to the Tigers at Welford Road – and his eye-catching performance in the number seven shirt poses a conundrum for Bath head coach Steve Meehan.

When fit, England openside flanker Lewis Moody, pictured above, has been Meehan's choice at seven ever since he arrived at The Rec from Leicester over the summer.

But after Watson's performance at openside against Leicester, is it time to think the unthinkable – at least if you're an England fan – and consider playing Moody at blindside?
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Watson was heroic at the breakdown against the Tigers. The first turnover he won came in the tenth minute. Up until that point the match had been one-way traffic with Leicester already six points to the good.

But when Watson smashed into Geordan Murphy and forced the Leicester skipper to hold on to the ball, the immediate effect was to galvanise Bath.

It was Watson who punched the air and yelped with delight just as soon as referee Andrew Small blew up to signal the turnover but you can bet every member of the Bath side experienced a morale boost the moment the penalty was given.

It is upon such plays that games can turn. And, playing at seven, Watson seemed to be in his element. His marauding at the breakdown was superb. Certainly, he made a greater impact around the tackle area than Moody has managed in a Bath shirt so far this season.

Since he arrived at Bath last November, Watson has played the vast majority of his matches at number eight but openside is arguably his natural position. He played much of his rugby there in South Africa, with no less a coach than Nick Mallett describing Watson as the best openside in the country during his spell as Western Province director of rugby.

And Watson himself made no secret of how much he had enjoyed playing at seven when I spoke to him after Saturday's game.

"I enjoyed getting over the ball," he said. "I was pretty successful today and got three or four turnovers and put them under pressure.

"When Moodos comes back it'll be great to have him but I enjoyed getting over the ball and causing a bit of havoc."

So, what should happen selection-wise when Moody next plays for Bath?

With Simon Taylor slipping into the rhythm of things at Bath and putting in fierce performances at number eight, I would be reluctant to move him. Nor would I want to shift Watson from seven following his performance against Leicester.

I'd therefore bring Moody in at blindside in place of Andy Beattie. It would be a rapid back-row – surely one of the fastest in the Premiership – and one difficult to contain at the breakdown.

It's a bit of brain-twister for Meehan but it's not a bad position to be in.

Reflections over a glass of Chianti Classico

2010-10-19T10:10:00.002+01:00

Tucked away on page 41 of Italy’s La Gazzetta dello Sport on the day of Bath’s visit to Aironi – behind basketball, cycling, tennis and just about every other sport on the planet – was rugby union. There were two paragraphs on the Heineken Cup, one of which referred to Northampton as a Scottish team. Clearly, European club rugby is still some way from being held close to the Italian sporting bosom.

At least, that would be the opinion a casual reader of Italy’s sporting press would in all likelihood draw. And it would certainly be the conclusion that my editor-in-chief (primarily a football man, it should be said) would draw. For the life of him he can’t understand why rugby is getting a foothold in Italy. “Why Italy?” he asked me the day before my departure to cover Bath’s Pool 4 match. “Why is there rugby in Italy but not, say, Germany?”

Visit Aironi’s ground – the Stadio Luigi Zaffanella – and an explanation begins to emerge. The Italians in this neck of the woods are starting to take their rugby football pretty seriously.
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There are cars embossed with the Aironi logo and there are plenty of fans prepared to pitch up early to soak up the atmosphere – and a few birras.

In many respects, the Luigi Zaffanella is The Rec’s superior. It may not have the picture postcard setting – it is very much an out-of-town affair on the northern edge of the small industrial town of Viadana – but it has porcelain tiles in the gents. That’s a certainly a step up from the fixtures and fittings at The Rec’s WCs.

It may be early days for the club and it may only pull in gates of around 4,000 (although, in truth, that’s not far off what Newcastle Falcons are currently attracting in the Aviva Premiership). But the facilities are in place, and with Aironi now competing in the Magners League and enjoying the week-in, week-out exposure to top-quality teams that such a championship brings, their trajectory can only go in one direction.

“I’d like to see what their training ground is like, because this is alright,” said an impressed Bath head coach Steve Meehan as we walked across the pitch to the post-match press conference.

“Aironi is a very spirited side,” he explained to the Italian press a few minutes later once the questions got under way. “It will take a little time for things to gel, but the players are very committed to one another.”

Strictly speaking, Aironi were only formed over the summer, the result of a merger of a phalanx of northern Italian sides, with Viadana the principal club. It hasn’t been the happiest of starts for the team, with them having lost all seven of their competitive matches so far.

But Aironi are not wet-behind-the-ears mugs. They boast 18 Italian internationals in their squad, and their front-row of former Toulouse prop Salvatore Perugini, Luca Redolfini and Azzurri hooker Fabio Ongaro give them a solid platform up front. Recent additions from the Aviva Premiership – former Gloucester lock Marco Bortolami and ex-Saracens outside back Rodd Penney – give them a streetwise edge.

And Meehan – a long-term student of Continental rugby having been assistant coach at Stade Francais before his move to Bath – believes the team spirit that he detects will stand them in firm stead.

“There’s a fine base on which to build,” he said, before adding dryly, “I’m hoping that by the time Biarritz and Ulster come here they are a much better team.”

Improvement on the scale needed to defeat the likes of Biarritz is, however, a medium-term project for Aironi, not one to be achieved in a matter of months. If Bath need luck to progress from this pool – which they do after their opening round loss to the Basques – then they are going to have to make their own, not rely on favours from Italy.

But while Aironi may have to content themselves with the ‘whipping boys’ tag for a season or so, expect the club to grow.

“See you next time,” grinned a jovial member of the club’s staff who’d been unstintingly obliging throughout the afternoon as I packed my laptop away. You can’t be sure precisely when that ‘next time’ will be, but Bath can expect an altogether tougher prospect whenever that date comes around, which it surely will.

World-class basics? Not at the moment, Sir Ian

2010-10-14T13:31:00.002+01:00

Here's my column from today's Bath Chronicle. More stuff along these lines here

Sir Ian McGeechan, Bath Rugby's performance director, recently gave a talk to business leaders in the South West in which he stressed the importance of doing "world-class basics".

Funnily enough, that's what Bath Rugby need to start doing, too – getting the game's basic skills and strategies absolutely nailed.

We all know what a devastatingly potent force Bath can be when the side's top gear – and brain – are engaged but those fireworks will not be achieved until the nuts and bolts are sorted.

And at the moment they're looking a bit rusty.

Bath's handling against Gloucester was atrocious. It was much improved against Biarritz, although the usually rock-solid Michael Claassens was uncharacteristically wayward on occasion and balls did begin to hit the deck with perturbing frequency as the second half wore on.

Elsewhere, the synchronisation between thrower and jumpers was better at the line-out on Sunday but that step forward was nullified by the two costly penalties the pack conceded for obstruction at the set-piece.

But it's not just the practical skills at Bath that need a touch of coaching WD-40. The team's mental focus needs work, as well as decision-making at critical times.

Bath have a glut of players with leadership experience but something is not right at the moment. That was proved by the staggering lack of nous that bewitched the side when a match-winning dropped goal opportunity presented itself in the dying minutes against Biarritz.

There have been other poor decisions this season too. Opting for a scrum on Northampton's five-metre line at Franklin's Gardens rather than taking the three points was one (talk about a provocation), while opting for a stoppage-time penalty goal attempt against London Irish rather than kicking the ball dead was another (my, how that could have backfired).

And then there was the Gloucester match, which was really just one jamboree of bad decisions.

Too often so far this season, Bath haven't been at the races at the start of the second-half. There was a total shutdown against Northampton after the break and a plug also seemed to have been pulled when Bath returned to the field on Sunday.

Few sides will ever sustain a cracking tempo for a full 80 minutes – even the best sides encounter spells where the game goes flat for a few minutes.

And, to their credit, Bath have managed to piece together some strong periods of play, the opening ten minutes against Biarritz being one such example.

But the consistency isn't there, not only from game to game, but from quarter to quarter.

So get that tracksuit on, Sir Ian. You've still got plenty of work to do in ensuring Bath's basics really are world-class.

Fans pray for miracle recovery as Butch James's return put back two months

2010-10-12T16:57:00.010+01:00

Butch James has just tweeted that he is "on track" for a return to action in January.
The commendably upbeat South African shows no signs of frustration at this - despite the fact that, two months ago, Bath Rugby issued a statement saying he'd be back from his Tri-Nations shoulder injury in November.
The difference between a November return and a January return must seem like an eternity to Bath fans at the moment. Bath are currently lacking any kind of zip and creativity in the 10 and 12 channels, and - just like this time last year - the big South African is conspicious by his absence.
As the recent losses to Gloucester and Biarritz emphasised, Bath's field-kicking is becoming increasingly erratic and the side are missing the World Cup winner's repertoire of moves, both with the boot and with ball in hand.
Bath scrum-half Michael Claassens is yet to gel with Sam Vesty as his half-back partner, and he is clearly missing James, with whom he enjoys a close bond both on and off the field.
Inside centre Olly Barkley, too, seems to have misplaced half his bag of tricks in James' absence.
Not all of Bath's woes are attributable to James being on the sidelines. Far from it. The Bath pack remains at sixes and sevens, unable to assert itself for more than 10 minutes. Even James would struggle behind its arthritic set-piece.
But as James's triumphant return from injury midway through last season proved, he is - in that grossly over-used adjective - talismanic.
His prolonged absence has already got some Bath fans reaching for the prayer mat. "January?!" tweeted one in disbelief at the news of the November return. "Here's to a miracle recovery..."

It's the no-shows that stick in the mind

2010-10-08T12:59:00.002+01:00

So, the first block of Aviva Premiership games is over – and what a mixed bag it's been for Bath.

There have been a couple of bonus-point victories but there have also been a couple of nasty losses. And with the weight of expectation being what it is at Bath this season, it's the losses that are sticking in the mind.

The thing is, they weren't just losses. They were embarrassing no-shows. Twice in the space of 15 days Bath looked like lost children on the pitch.

And one of those matches was at The Rec, the place where they should feel most at home.

They were the kind of performances that make you want to avert your eyes (or leave, as hundreds did before the final whistle against Gloucester last Friday), and the words of the departing fans – "we got spanked", "we got battered" – said it all.

The nature of Friday's loss to Gloucester casts a new light on the season's earlier matches.

Bath were so poor against the Cherry and Whites that I found myself reconsidering Bath's other performances and I reached the following conclusion: Bath have only put in one good performance out of the five games they have played so far.

That game was the match against London Irish, in which Bath sneaked a win with a last-gasp try. Even then they were hardly resounding victors.

Irish spent the majority of the second half of that match with just 14 men on the pitch, following a sin-binning and then a sending-off. Yet Bath failed to capitalise, even conceding a try before grabbing a late winner.

It's fairly obvious why I don't regard the losses to Northampton or Gloucester as good performances (I don't think anyone would) but what about the wins over Leeds and Sale?

Didn't Bath score four tries in each and doesn't that, of itself, give proof that Bath gave a decent account of themselves?

No, it doesn't. Because in both cases the opposition defences were woeful.

As subsequent performances have shown, Leeds are currently the Premiership's soft touch, so crossing the whitewash against them is no great shakes. Moreover, Bath's set-piece was atrocious at Headingley.

Against Sale, Bath may have secured a four-try bonus point but only after a succession of defensive blunders that left Sharks head coach Mike Brewer spitting feathers. So, again, no gongs for that win.

Am I being a little on the 'glass half empty' side? Perhaps so. But performances like the one on Friday have to prompt questions.

The consoling thing is that it is a matter of fact that Bath can perform much better.

The final months of last season were proof enough that this is a side capable of turning on the style.

But it remains something of a mystery how the team that produced the silky handling of the sort we saw against Wasps at Twickenham in April can then produce the woeful litany of knock-ons we witnessed on Friday.

It's also a source of comfort for Bath fans that their side sit fourth in the table, despite being very far from hitting top gear.

So it's not all bad. And if they get off to a decent start in the Heineken Cup against Biarritz on Sunday and all (well, most) will be forgotten.

Big Ben is ready to strike

2010-09-24T08:11:00.005+01:00

Here's a prediction: this young fella will make a big impression on the Premiership this season. Olly Barkley and Shontayne Hape will be under pressure to hang on to their shirts at Bath if this 21-year-old continues to take his chances.

When I first met Ben Williams just over a year ago, he told me that Mike Tindall had been his inspiration as a schoolboy.

And when you look at the strapping young centre's frame – all 6ft 2in and 15 stone of it – the obvious conclusion is that he, too, styles himself as a hard-tackling, crash-ball back, just like the England star whom he idolised as a teenager.

There may have been a strand of truth in that description of Williams' game 13 months ago. And while he clearly likes to run hard and take the contact, Williams is a far more rounded athlete than that.

The 21-year-old, who is in his first season as a full first-team squad member having graduated from Bath's academy, also has a decent boot on him. He proved that to good effect on Friday night, putting in an assured, deft kick over the top of the Northampton defence that gave Bath a rare platform from which to test the Saints.

And that was not his only act that caught the eye at Franklin's Gardens. After coming on as a replacement for Olly Barkley in the 56th minute, Williams was like of shot of ProPlus direct into the back-line's bloodstream. He ran on to the ball with the kind of zip and panache that England caps Barkley and Shontayne Hape had been lacking all evening. His hands were good too, with the livewire centre hanging on to a couple of testing passes. And his support play ensured he was in the right place to finish off Bath's best move of the night.

In that regard, you have to feel a bit sorry for him. Of all the moments to score his debut Premiership try, Williams does it when his side is 31-3 down and on the receiving end of a total drubbing from a Saints side playing as though possessed by the very devil. It wasn't exactly a Roy of the Rovers moment.

But that's the way Williams likes to be: quiet, understated and business-like. There are no histrionics.

"I like to be under the radar and I like to play my own game," he explains in a quiet, soothing voice after the match. "When I come on I have my own style and I'm generally happy with the way it went today."

Williams' humble, low-key approach perhaps isn't surprising when you consider his medical history. He's had more than his fair share of injuries, with his legs in particular spending plenty of time under the doctor's gaze. Maybe all those hours in the rehab room have served to ground him, making him acutely aware of how fragile a rugby player's lot can be.

Williams, the son of a professional footballer, was a gifted soccer player himself in his youth. When his weekends got so chock-a-block with rugby one hour and football the next, he chose the former.

Those gifts with the boot are something that he's been working hard to develop with the oval ball. And in that regard, he's certainly got the edge over Hape, who has no kicking game to speak of.

"It's always nice to add to your game rather than being one-dimensional," says Williams. "Some people may have the perception that I'm one-dimensional, but although it was a loss against Northampton, it was very positive for me."

Indeed it was. On a night of negatives for Bath, Williams – who made one start in the Premiership for Bath last season – definitely got a big plus mark next to his name.

"I worked very hard during pre-season on parts of my game – including my kicking game – and hopefully that showed against Northampton.

"My aim this season is to keep pushing those guys who are starting each week and if I can keep coming off the bench and having a crack then that's what I'll keep doing."

Williams may prove an experiment worth pursuing sooner rather than later in either centre channel, possibly even at the expense of his highly decorated team-mates. And here's a thought. Imagine how he'd operate alongside that other recent Bath experiment at centre, Matt Banahan. Now that really would be a terrifying prospect for any defence.

Rivals for England 15 shirt go head-to-head. But who would you back?

2010-09-16T10:07:00.008+01:00

I'm a long-standing admirer of Bath full-back Nick Abendanon. But how does he measure up against his rivals for the England shirt, Ben Foden and Delon Armitage? Well, Saturday's match against London Irish and tomorrow's game against Northampton Saints provide a good chance to see how the 15s compare.

I met up with Abendanon this week to get his thoughts on his England prospects. The article is taken from today's Bath Chronicle.

The man they call Bendy looks distinctly stiff as he walks in for our interview.

Knocked unconscious during Saturday’s win over London Irish, Nick Abendanon resembles a man who’s been on a very long, very arduous tour of duty. And we’re only two-and-a-half weeks into the Aviva Premiership.

His face still carries the grazes from the moment he slumped to the deck after being caught by the flailing forearm of Irish’s George Stowers. He admits moving his neck had been tricky on Monday morning and his left foot is encased in a giant protective medical boot.

“It’s just precautionary,” he says dismissively when I enquire whether it’s serious. “I’ll definitely be playing on Friday.”

By the standards of modern rugby, Abendanon’s vital statistics suggest he should be a delicate flower: 5ft 10in and a shade over 13-and-a-half stone. But anyone who’s witnessed him smash into a wall of defenders from deep will know he’s more poison ivy than rare orchid.

They say that playing against the best brings out the best in you. Assuming the truth of that, expect Abendanon to have a stormer against Northampon Saints tomorrow night.

Abendanon, capped twice by England back in 2007, will be up against the current Red Rose full-back, Ben Foden.

And given that his opposite number on Saturday was Delon Armitage – the other man who currently sits above him in the England pecking order – then Abendanon is getting a pretty good taste of what he needs to do to catch his rivals.

“It’s always nice to play against someone you’re trying to compete with for a place in the England squad,” he admits. “During Saturday’s game it felt like I was almost trading blows with Delon – I’d make a break, then he would and so forth.

“He had a good game and, fair play to him, he had a good game the previous week as well.

“But hopefully if I keep playing well and keep sticking at it I’ll get my opportunity.

“The England guys have made it clear that Ben’s the number one full-back at the moment, so it’s nice to be able to play against your competitor, outplay him and get one over on him. Then, when it comes to selection, you can look back and say, ‘Well at least I outplayed the number one full-back when I played for my club’.”

The 24-year-old has had some adjusting to do since last season. With his old partner in the Bath back three, Joe Maddock, having moved to Italy and with Matt Banahan being occasionally deployed in the centres, he’s got new partnerships to forge.

But he’s having few difficulties linking up with Matt Carraro and new signing Tom Biggs.

“It’s different not having the same old Joey to your right and Banners to your left,” he admits. “But Matt [Carraro] is a great player. Although he would prefer to play in the centres he’s just as good on the wing. You can trust him under anything.

“Biggsy’s exciting and creative and it’s good to have someone who’s got good feet. It’s perhaps going to take a few more games to get used to playing together but we’re definitely working well.”

They're just a bunch of softies, really

2010-09-10T10:09:00.003+01:00

Bath Rugby signed a sponsorship deal with Bensons for Beds this week, and we have that deal to thank for these utterly priceless photos.

Fancy an exorcism?

2010-09-09T16:47:00.004+01:00

Below is my column for the September 9 Bath Chronicle.

You are cordially invited to an exorcism. Dress: Blue, black and white. Date: 2.15pm Saturday, September 11. Location: The Rec.

Last year's low point for Bath Rugby came when they suffered the ignominy of being nilled at home by London Irish.

That loss on a night of Macbethian weather confirmed that something akin to electric shock therapy was needed if Bath were to rise out of their slough of despond.

'Clear the air' talks involving the whole squad were held the following Monday – and the revival, although at first spluttering, began from there.

Bath's form in the second half of last season means that the troubles of the first half are, by and large, forgotten.

Indeed, Bath have not lost a Premiership game at The Rec since that fateful night in late November.

But true redemption after last season's fiasco will only be achieved if Bath put Irish to the sword at The Rec this Saturday. Only then will the ghost of last season's 16-0 capitulation be cast out.

And when you consider that Bath and the Exiles were the only sides to pick up bonus-point wins in the opening weekend of the Premiership, then the encounter looks like being a devilishly hot one.

Between them the sides scored 65 points in round one and both have back lines that blend pace and bulk. In Abendanon, Banahan and Barkley, Bath have no shortage of danger men but then Irish's back three of Delon Armitage, Topsy Ojo and Sailosi Tagicakibau – each of whom scored in the win over Saracens on Saturday – isn't exactly sluggish.

One of the most absorbing contests on Saturday will be between new Bath fly-half Sam Vesty and the Exiles' mercurial Ryan Lamb.

It was Lamb who kicked all of Irish's points in last season's slaughter at The Rec. But following his intelligent and physical debut against Leeds Carnegie on Sunday, I wouldn't bet against Vesty – currently serving an apprenticeship to the great South African sorcerer Butch James – from pulling off a successful exorcism.

The match is also likely to feature two of the most exciting young props in the Premiership: Bath's Nathan Catt and the Exiles' Alex Corbisiero. Both may well start on the bench but there are calls for both to be handed starting berths.

Catt is certainly breathing down David Flatman's neck for the Bath number one shirt. The young pretender is more mobile than his more senior club colleague and another high penalty count for Flatman could force head coach Steve Meehan's hand.

There is likely to be a record crowd at The Rec as the club hosts its first competitive match since its capacity was increased to over 12,000. And the supporters will be hoping Bath can pull off their 100th win in the Premiership.

It may only be the second game of the season but already it feels like there is plenty riding on this match. And if you are a Bath fan, try not to worry too much about the fact that Irish have lost just one of their last five matches at The Rec.

Live: Leeds Carnegie V Bath Rugby

2010-09-02T13:37:00.001+01:00

I'll be providing live, interactive coverage of Leeds Carnegie V Bath Rugby here at 2.45pm on Sunday, September 5. Pop by and take part.

Leeds Carnegie V Bath Rugby

Attwood aims to keep Borthwick on the sidelines

2010-08-31T14:41:00.004+01:00

I interviewed rising Gloucester and England lock Dave Attwood recently as part of research I was doing for Premiership Rugby's forthcoming season handbook/magazine. The man is a mountain; his hands, truly, are shovels. He must also be one of the few tight five forwards around with a degree in philosophy and physics (although, on the topic of unlikely subjects of intellectual study for rugby forwards, I've got a feeling Saracens' Hugh Vyvyan studied theology...). Anyway, I liked Dave. A very level-headed guy with an appetite for hard graft. I expect big things.
The Premiership magazine, by the way, should be out sometime towards the end of September. I'll update when I've got a firm date.

The man who’s pinched Steve Borthwick’s spot in the England Elite Player Squad admits he’s got an eye on next year’s World Cup – but says his first job is rolling up his sleeves at his club.
Dave Attwood shot to prominence during England’s summer tour of Australasia, impressing Martin Johnson with his non-Test performances against the Australian Barbarians.
But now it’s back to the day job at Gloucester. And the 23-year-old is relishing the task, although he admits a starting berth is not guaranteed at his club.
“You can never lose sight of how you get to where you want to go,” he said. “I’ve got big international ambitions, but if I don’t play well for my club I’m not going to get a chance or even a look-in at international level. So it's really important for me to play well for Gloucester.
"But when you get back in to the club environment it’s easy to see why you want to play here.
"I don’t think at all about international rugby when I’m playing for the club, I think about playing for the club and how we can get results here."
Gloucester bade farewell to six players at the end of last season and signed just three. And Attwood believes that such limited change has provided the side with the platform they need to kick on after a disappointing seventh place in last season’s Premiership.
"We've had very few ins and outs over the summer and that's key if you're trying to build form,” he explained.
“Last year there was an enormous overhaul of players, coaches and backroom staff so everything was bound to be a bit more unsettled.
“It's nice this year that there's a lot more consistency. Everyone knows where they stand and we can push hard together.
“Hopefully this year we are a bit more bonded and have got used to playing with each other a bit more, and that ball will bounce a bit more in our favour and we'll get a few more of those results.”
Attwood admits competition for places among Gloucester’s locks is fierce, with Alex Brown, Will James and new signing Jim Hamilton all vying for the 4 and 5 shirts. And he’s modest about his prospects.
"I'm certainly not the finished article and while I'm going to be pushing hard for that starting shirt, I know they offer many of things that I do and in many cases a lot more,” he said.
“There is a lot of competition for shirts. It's by no means a given that I will be starting for Gloucester this year so I've got to focus on getting that shirt at the weekend."

Lewis Moody soaks up the vibe at The Rec

2010-08-24T10:55:00.003+01:00

A niggle may have prevented Lewis Moody from taking to The Rec against Edinburgh on Saturday for Bath Rugby's final friendly of the pre-season, but here he is in Bath colours (and purple!) for a video I did with him earlier this month.

A technical glitch meant I was unable to upload this to my blog as soon as I would have liked. But better late than never, eh?

Afternoon tea with Shontayne Hape at the Royal Crescent

2010-08-24T10:37:00.004+01:00

Amiable England centre Shontayne Hape spoke to me as Bath officially launched their season. Take a look at the video.

Keep a look-out for my in-depth feature on Hape's off-field alter ago - DJ Shape - in the forthcoming official Premiership Rugby magazine. It should be out in mid-September.

Personalities and prima donnas - the art of leadership

2010-08-19T09:09:00.006+01:00

What kind of personality makes for a good leader on the professional rugby field?

There are no fixed rules but a painfully introverted navel-gazer is unlikely to spark the kind of fire that's needed for a team to set the league alight.

In most cases, what's needed is a vocal extrovert but that can be a tricky issue for a head coach, because vocal, extroverted sportsmen can become vocal, extroverted prima donnas – as Bath Rugby have discovered down the years.

When I interviewed Bob Calleja last week, the departing Bath Rugby stalwart made it clear he'd had to put up with a few egos in the changing room during his decade or so at the club.

Calleja was too diplomatic to say who the prima donnas were, of course, but I'm sure you can think of a couple.

The personality of the skipper is of the utmost importance because it can trickle down to the rest of the squad.

The virtues that a captain needs are varied. He needs to command respect without being intimidating, he needs to encourage while being tough on mistakes and he needs to lead while ensuring others don't become reliant on that leadership.

It has been a stated objective of Bath Rugby over the past half-year or so to cultivate leaders all over the park. That philosophy was encapsulated by skipper Luke Watson's remark after the win in Belfast on Friday night.

"There are so many leaders I can't say I have the leadership role," said the South African, pictured.

And that's not a glib statement. Look through the Bath squad – and the pack in particular – and you'll see there are ex-captains and experienced internationals all over the parish.

These are men whose impact will not be restricted to matchday, either. Their influence will be felt in training, in video analysis and even during 'down time'.

Lewis Moody is a case in point. Of course, there are his skills as a player, but his influence at Bath will stretch much further than what he does at flanker. He is also a motivator, a winner and a colossus in training.

This week his England team-mate Mark Cueto handed Moody a compliment that made me smile, describing him as "far more intelligent on a rugby field then he looks".

It is Moody's fusion of rugby nous and bloody-mindedness that should inject a firm spine into Bath. And judging by the number of players that Bath released over the summer to sign Moody, that kind of spine has cost them a fair amount of wedge.

Now back to Watson. When Bath were going through the dark days of last autumn – when a win was harder to come by than a magnanimous Gloucester fan – head coach Steve Meehan cautioned against fans regarding Watson as the club's 'messiah'.

The South African had yet to arrive but expectations were high given the performances he had been putting in for Western Province while captain.

Deification of Watson to the pantheon of Bath greats may be premature but his impact was immediate. His elevation to the captaincy was, as far as I was concerned, a no-brainer within weeks of his arrival.

And while he is certainly extroverted, there is a selflessness that stems from his Christian faith.

How he performs at The Rec on Saturday in his first home match as Bath skipper will be intriguing – but expect an almighty roar of approval when his name is read out before kick-off.

Vicars, drugs tests and gambling

2010-08-12T17:27:00.006+01:00

The following is taken from my exclusive interview with departing Bath Rugby boss Bob Calleja. For a longer interview see my piece on the Chronicle's website. For the full warts and all piece, see today's Bath Chronicle

Bath Rugby are turning to the Church in an effort to provide greater pastoral support for players.

The club are in the process of securing the services of a local vicar who would offer a confidential counselling service.

The club have been in discussions with the Rev Martin Lloyd-Williams, rector of St Michael's Church in Broad Street.

Chief operating officer Bob Calleja, who leaves Bath at the end of the month after 11 years at the Rec, believes all clubs in the Aviva Premiership need to improve their provision when it comes to player welfare.

In an exclusive, wide-ranging interview in today's Chronicle, Calleja, speaks frankly about the highs and lows of his time at The Rec.

He describes last summer's drugs scandal at the club as "the darkest moment – diabolical", and speaks passionately about the need for greater off-field support for players.

"Some clubs have adopted the local vicar to offer a confidential, counselling service," said Calleja. "We are starting on it.

"Martin at St Michael's has often offered his services to help. Nick Blofeld [chief executive] is looking at it to see if we can set that up on a permanent basis.

"Players have to have someone who they respect that they can talk to in confidence.

"In the past some players have come to me, some have been to the head coach.

"There are problems. These are young men who sometimes have all sorts of problems and you try to help them."

Calleja, who is in negotiations with Premiership Rugby about taking up a role which would encompass conduct and player welfare, warns that gambling could be the next vice to undermine the game unless it is tackled swiftly.

"Gambling is the next issue that really has to be addressed," he said. "There's not a gambling problem at Bath but there is one generally in professional sport.

"Players have a lot of spare time and are reasonably well off. There has to be a lot more work done on helping players avoid gambling addiction. It's next on the agenda." While stressing that he is not aware of any problems at Bath, Calleja added: "Some of them play cards, and the only advice I ever gave to one of the young lads when they were playing poker was 'don't play with anyone who earns more than you do'."

Bath offer French flyer an extended trial

2010-08-09T15:54:00.002+01:00

France's human equivalent of the TGV, Jacques Boussuge, has been offered a fortnight's trial at The Rec, I learnt today.
Story here on Bath Chronicle website.

Butch is looking pretty... butch

2010-08-06T12:15:00.007+01:00

The Bath Rugby squad have been put through their paces at a series of pre-season beastings, but their fly-half Butch James - who is on international duty with the Springboks - isn't exactly taking it easy, judging by these pictures taken by the excellent South African sports photographer Steve Haag.
James, who will find out tomorrow if he is in South Africa's squad for the forthcoming home matches in the Tri-Nations, was doing a spot of training with captain John Smit and prop BJ Botha in Durban.
Nice work, Steve.

All hail Michael Claassens, the man who detoxified Bath Rugby

2010-08-06T08:17:00.004+01:00

The following is taken from my column in the Thursday, August 5 Bath Chronicle

As they lounged on the beaches of the south coast of France on Wednesday during a day off from their pre-season camp, life must have felt pretty good for the Bath Rugby squad.

What a difference a year makes. Twelve months ago Bath were under a cloud following an interminable summer drugs debacle; a coach had been quietly shown the door for reasons the club refused to elaborate on; players were still splitting their time between three different sites in the city for training; and, to cap it all, Olly Barkley had broken his leg.

Now, after a summer in which the biggest scandal involving a Bath player was Barkley's omission from the England EPS and Saxon squads, the vibes emanating from the Bath camp are of an altogether different sort – harmony, focus and confidence.

Bath have a stable coaching team, complemented by the arrival of Sir Ian McGeechan; they have a new owner who is in the process of moving the club's entire training and administrative operation to an inspirational countryside base of unparalleled beauty; and they have a captain who has been a revelation since arriving in Bath last November.

For a taste of this optimistic spirit, just read Stuart Hooper's column in this week's paper, a column that throbs with a sense of calm confidence ahead of the forthcoming campaign.

While Steve Meehan denies that he brought Luke Watson to The Rec last year with a plan to make him captain for the 2010-11 season, Watson's leadership credentials were obvious from the start.

I remember the time he arrived for his first press conference at The Rec. The aura was immediate, the self-assurance clear.

Watson likes a good struggle. A constant theme of his is that the greatest triumphs come out of situations of the greatest adversity. Bath had plenty of adversity last season and if anyone is to steer them to triumph this coming season, then Watson is the man.

The South African is aware he comes with a certain amount of baggage, given the difficult relationship he had with the rugby establishment in his native country.

He's still regarded by some in his homeland as an outspoken member of the awkward squad. And while he's certainly not been backwards in coming forwards since he's been in Bath, there hasn't been a gram of awkwardness.

On the contrary, his presence has been uplifting – Bath's results since he arrived mid-way through last season say a lot about the man.

But amid all the pats on the back for Watson, let's not forget the work done by last year's skipper, Michael Claassens, pictured.

The scrum-half took on the captaincy at a time when the role was self-evidently a poisoned chalice. Claassens' achievement was to detoxify Bath following the drugs scandal and, by the end of the season, have his side playing the kind of rugby that caused no end of natural highs.

And all this was done with an unstinting politeness and calm.

So let's not forget the labours of Michael Claassens – a sturdy bridge over some very troubled waters for Bath.

Will it be frere Jacques?

2010-08-04T21:53:00.004+01:00

News from Bath Rugby's week in Provence...
Bath will give France 7s specialist Jacques Boussuge a chance to pull on the blue, black and white jersey on Friday, Bath chief executive Nick Blofeld tells me. The Montpellier winger may then be offered a fortnight's trial at The Rec should he impress in the friendly against Pays d'Aix.

Luke Watson and how he got the Bath captaincy

2010-08-02T12:02:00.005+01:00

Read Luke Watson's first interview as Bath Rugby captain, which he gave to me just before the club flew out for their pre-season camp in Provence.

Why Jonny F didn't fit at Bath anymore

2010-07-29T15:03:00.005+01:00

Jonny Fa'amatuainu's exit from The Rec not only represents the departure of a flamboyant character from Bath Rugby. More significantly, it is symbolic of a departure in strategy that has been brewing at the club for half a year.

Not long after he arrived at Bath a year ago, chief executive Nick Blofeld began emphasising a formula that arguably has little room for players of Fa'amatuainu's mould.

That formula requires graft and combativeness in the pack, blended with audacity in the backs.

"We need flair behind the pack but bloody-mindedness up front," Blofeld said towards the end of last season, just as Fa'amatuainu was getting used to warming the replacements' bench, before dropping out of the match-day squad completely.

And while it was head coach Steve Meehan who was having the final say over selection issues, Blofeld's comment seemed to encapsulate the club's hardening view that running rugby is all good and well – but it cannot function properly without a more solid, snarling and downright aggressive platform.

Fa'amatuainu, a back-row player who can also play at lock, is very much a 'flair' player. But as Bath have discovered in various scraps at the breakdown over the past couple of seasons, it's guts married to guile that secures the kind of ball necessary for victory, not flair in the loose.

If Bath's early-1990s heyday is to be revived, then what's required is the development of a back-row spine comparable to the one once provided by the likes of John Hall and Andy Robinson.

Hall, Robinson and Co's ferocity, physical presence and guts made Bath potent at the breakdown. They put in the donkey work and were widely feared. Opponents knew they would be spared no quarter – and that Hall and Robinson would always be in the thick of things.

Fa'amatuainu, for all his virtues, is not of that ilk. Too often last season he lurked on the fringes of the breakdown rather than getting in people's faces.

The Samoan's virtues are manifold. Chief among them is his speed, illustrated to great effect last season when he chased down Worcester wing Miles Benjamin – certainly no slouch – with a few graceful leaps and the extension of one of those long arms.

Such pace was an asset in the loose too, although his elaborate one- handed carries sometimes only served to reinforce the image of him as something of a showman.

Fa'amatuainu's release to Scarlets on a season-long loan – after which he will be out of contract at Bath – is probably good for all parties.

With the addition of Lewis Moody and Simon Taylor to the back row, and flanker Josh Ovens stepping up from Bath's academy to the first-team squad, Fa'amatuainu was destined to spend the season on the sidelines. That would have been demotivating for him and having demotivated players around can have a draining effect on the rest of the squad.

For his part, Fa'amatuainu has a chance of enjoying some regular first-team action at Parc Y Scarlets – and that's the only type of action that matters to an international player in the run up to a World Cup.

Lewis Moody - his first interview as a Bath Rugby player

2010-07-28T17:21:00.010+01:00

I've interviewed Lewis Moody a couple of times before, but today was the first time I had spoken to him while he was wearing the blue, black and white of Bath Rugby.
Watch the video - the first interview he has given as a Bath player after 14 years with Leicester Tigers.

A profile piece I've done on Moody based on a longer, off-camera interview can be read in the Thursday, July 29 edition of The Bath Chronicle.

Justice - one year on

2010-07-27T16:08:00.004+01:00

A couple of weeks ago I issued a cyber-sermon on the nefarious thuggery of Bakkies Botha in the opening match of the Tr-Nations. To his credit, the big man has subsequently appeared suitably contrite for his craven headbutt on Jimmy Cowan.
It jogged memories of a column I wrote almost exactly a year prior to that. In this earlier column, I criticised the disrespect shown to the game's authorities by the South African team during their infamous 'Justice 4 Bakkies' armband protest against the British Lions.
With the season almost upon us, I thought it was worth reprising it - not least because I'd hate to see any more nonsense directed toward the officials via inapproriate channels. Goodness knows there was enough of that from Saracens in the Premiership last season.

The debilitating power of doubt

2010-07-22T12:06:00.003+01:00

Read my column in today's Bath Chronicle on the sportsman's greatest poison: doubt.
Yours,
Doubting Thomas

Sam Vesty's the new lord of the manor at Bath

2010-07-21T16:41:00.010+01:00

Sam Vesty may have been at Bath Rugby for less than a month, but he is already lording it over his team-mates.
The 28-year-old is currently slumming it at Farleigh House - the country residence that's at the heart of Bath's new 130-acre headquarters in Farleigh Hungerford, nine miles outside the city.
Bath chairman Bruce Craig took out a long-term lease on the imposing Somerset country estate when he bought the club in April.
The house and its grounds are currently being adapted so they can accommodate the club's entire backroom staff, as well as all the training facilities.
Planning permission from Mendip District Council is expected imminently for the club to create pitches at the site. Turf will then be brought in and a draining tank installed, with a view to the first-team beginning training there in October.
Vesty's wife and three children are due to arrive from Leicester next week, but until then he is residing on his own at Farleigh House.
The Gothic Revival house looks like a plausible setting for a creepy Edgar Allan Poe tale, and Vesty admits the supernatural sometimes feels pretty close to hand.
“I feel like the master of the estate, but it can be scary in the middle of the night. When the fire alarm went off the other night I genuinely thought there was a ghost!"
Vesty has joined Bath from arch-rivals Leicester Tigers, and while he admits it's been a bit of a wrench leaving his home city, he's rubbing his hands at the prospect of a fresh start in the West Country.
“Bath Rugby’s an amazingly exciting place to be at the moment with the new training facilities and the new players. And the work ethic around the place has been amazing, from the youngest to the oldest," he said.
Among those new players is his old Leicester mucker Lewis Moody, who also made the move from the Midlands to Bath over the summer.
The England skipper is set for his first formal training session with his new club on Monday.
“Lewis brings a certain intensity to training which is good for any team," said Vesty. "It will be good for the team having him around.”
Vesty has revelled in the amount of ball-handling involved in Bath's pre-season training sessions and is relishing Bath's pre-season camp in Provence in the first week of August.
The week will culminate with a match against French second-tier outfit Pays d'Aix RC on August 6.
“It won’t be a holiday - I’ve seen a bit of the schedule!
"It’s exciting because it will be the first time I put a Bath shirt on and a chance to do all the things that we’ve been working hard at."

"Bath will reinvigorate me" - for the full interview with Sam Vesty and his thoughts on where he sees himself playing at Bath, see the July 22 Bath Chronicle

Raising a glass to the Heineken Cup draw

2010-07-20T13:02:00.009+01:00

Bath Rugby have a good chance of being quick out of the blocks when their Heineken Cup campaign kicks off in October.
A home game (even if it is against last year's defeated finalists, Biarritz) followed by an away clash against new Italian side Aironi is a kind enough draw.
They have a good chance of hitting their stride and getting championship points under their belt before facing slippery Ulster - who beat them twice last season - in back-to-back fixtures.
And if Bath's fortunes in Europe do go belly up, supporters always have a trip to the Basque country to look forward to in January, when Biarritz will host them.

Pictured: Luke Watson, one of Bath's few bright sparks in a dark and dismal European campaign last season, takes the fight to Ulster at The Rec

More Heineken Cup news here

Rugby - a game for gentlemen?

2010-07-19T12:04:00.005+01:00

Headbutts, stamps, gouges and punches.

With such an unedifying array of thuggery displayed on the pitch from time to time, can it really be maintained – as the old adage has it – that rugby is a game played by gentlemen with oddly-shaped balls?

There was a chorus of unquestionably justified disgust and disquiet following Stade Francais' display of eye-gouging during last season's Heineken Cup match against Ulster.

Now the perpetration of another on-field sin is sullying the game – the headbutt. Actually, that's not quite right. It's the cowardly, sneaky headbutt.

Fans around the world have seen the slow-mo footage of Springbok lock forward Bakkies Botha's butt on the All Blacks' Jimmy Cowan in the opening match of the Tri-Nations.

And you don't need to be a citing commissioner or disciplinary panel judge to grasp that what Botha committed was a Neanderthal act of assault, more in keeping with the law of the jungle than the law of rugby union.

Botha's butt elicited the same reaction in me as an eye-gouge because, like a gouge, it was committed against a defenceless prey.

Cowan was lying on his stomach with his back to Botha when the big South African, pictured, decided to butt him. Well 'ard, Bakkies, well 'ard.

If a Millwall FC fan performed such a sickening act on a rival fan – let alone a player performing it on another player – the howls of derision and outrage would shake the very foundations of Wembley.

But an international lock of the highest order does it and there are still some who shrug their shoulders and say 'forwards will be forwards – it's part of the game'.

Not good enough. Rugby players aren't the sporting equivalent of foreign diplomats, they don't have immunity from prosecution for the 80 minutes a week they spend on a rectangular pitch.

It's time for the authorities to start using a bit more stick and that may require a criminal prosecution for common assault or actual bodily harm in the not too distant future.

A rugby stadium is not the Circus Maximus. We gather to watch episodes of controlled aggression, not displays of last-man-standing brutality that would in the normal course of things secure one a night in the slammer. Our gladiators are athletes, not machines primed for maiming.

Rugby's a fierce contact sport, set apart by its spectacular collisions and the strength of its players. That's why I enjoy it.

But, please, let's cut out the illegal violence.

Pride in the Bath jersey

2010-07-07T14:26:00.004+01:00

Sorry about the delay in posting this - family matters have intervened of late. But here's my take on Lions legend Sir Ian McGeechan's arrival at Bath Rugby.
And I expect more canny moves from new Bath owner Bruce Craig in the next few weeks. He's fast assembling an on and off-field set up - both in terms of personnel and facilities - that will be the envy of every club in the land, if not the universe.

Butch stays in the headlines

2010-06-28T10:29:00.008+01:00

Bath Rugby playmaker Butch James has been named in South Africa’s squad for this year’s Tri-Nations, raising questions about who will wear the number 10 shirt for Bath at the start of the Premiership season.
It also raises questions about when it ceases to become worthwhile for a club to retain the services of a player who could feasibly be on duty for almost half the domestic season. Such an issue is already causing a difference of opinion among the Bath supporters.
Should Boks coach Peter de Villiers select James for South Africa's home leg of the Tri-Nations, then that debate will only intensify. The question of 'Will Butch stay in Bath or won't he?' hovered over The Rec throughout the second half of last season. Don't expect it to disappear any time soon.

Bonjour et bienvenue, Monsieur Craig

2010-06-24T16:06:00.012+01:00

Bath Rugby's new owner has one foot on each side of The Channel. And as a keen Francophile, it seems Bruce Craig (pictured) is keen to give the Bath squad a taste of the Gallic summer during the pre-season.
They used to do a lot of bull fighting in that part of the world so the front-rowers should feel right at home. Just don't make too many trips to the Provencal vineyards, chaps. Chateauneuf du Pape is only a short drive away...
In all seriousness, I think it's a good move having a pre-season camp and match on the Continent. Chairman Craig has big ambitions for the club, the principal one being that Bath becomes a true European powerhouse once again. Having a temporary base in France and playing a match there (admittedly against a second division side) will go a long way to imbuing the players and coaching staff with a sense of confidence for when they come to play their next big fixture in the country.
It's been 12 years since Bath won the Heineken Cup - the Northern Hemispehere's top club competition. Bath's Provencal pre-season could well give them that extra edge for the 2010-11 campaign.
And as for the fact that the players are to be put through yoga sessions... Well, the mind boggles. Do you reckon Duncan Bell will have time to perfect the lotus position before the season kicks off?

Browbeaten Australia should make Johnson relax - for now, anyway

2010-06-21T16:54:00.008+01:00

So England sprung a surprise, beating Australia in their own back yard. And that was only two days after I published this in the Bath Chronicle. But I still stand by the general thrust of the piece, despite England's shock (but, I admit, deserving) win.
If England rugby is a pint glass, I'm now more inclined to see it as half full. But the real test for the England camp is whether they can follow up their terrific win in Oz with a decent performance against the All Blacks at Twickers in the autumn. That should focus minds.
Under Martin Johnson (pictured above), England have still only won nine out of 22 matches. And I'm sure he'll be the last person to get carried away by a winning run of one match. But, for now, Martin, you can relax that brow.

I can now officially use that dreaded phrase "award-winning journalist"

2010-06-10T17:49:00.006+01:00

Good news (for me, anyway). I've just been named Sports Journalist of the Year at the EDF Energy South West Media Awards. (Yeah, I know, you're all delighted for me.)
I was a bit worried that the fact I only write about rugby might make me a bit too much of a specialist for the judges, but it seems not! Rugby union's on the rise...

Bath Rugby to get some Air time

2010-06-10T17:46:00.003+01:00

Bath have drawn new Italian side Aironi in next season's Heineken Cup group stage. But what is the state of Italian rugby and will the north Italian side be anything other than whipping boys? I wade into the debate in my column in today's Bath Chronicle.

Butch's South Africa dream gets butchered

2010-06-02T11:21:00.004+01:00

Butch James has been strung up by more red tape than you'd find at a Communist Party crime scene.
A month or so ago James complained to me that the Sharks had "pulled the rug out from underneath him" when he was poised to return to the Durban-based club. Now it seems the rug has been pulled again, this time by Premier Rugby Ltd.

Need to rejunenate your career? Then get a ban

2010-05-28T11:59:00.005+01:00

What with Michael Lipman's deal with Melbourne Rebels, Alex Crockett's contract with Bristol and now this, it seems that getting a ban from the RFU for drugs-related charges no longer dents career prospects.

It's mind-bending that Bendy isn't in England squad

2010-05-13T10:34:00.003+01:00

I’m sure I’m not the only one who’s been left scratching his head at the inclusion of the out-of-form, ineffectual Delon Armitage in the England squad for the tour to Australia at the expense of the in-form, intoxicatingly exciting Nick Abendanon.
The full-back has been key to Bath’s resurgence this season. The fans recognise it, head coach Steve Meehan recognises it and his team-mates certainly recognise it. That’s why he was voted the Players’ Player of the Year at the club’s annual awards dinner on Monday evening.
Abendanon is a game-changer. Ever since he began scoring tries for fun in 2006, his elusive running from deep has been his trademark. His ability to spot the gap and dance his way through it is a gift. He has worked on that gift and, as recent moments of magic have shown, his ball carrying is becoming even more potent.
The statistics from this year’s Guinness Premiership speak for themselves – get the ball in Abendanon’s hands and he’ll cause havoc.
Such line-breaking potential is precisely what England need. There has been much talk about how the Red Rose squad needs a player of Jason Robinson’s ilk if it is to be in a position to compete for next year’s World Cup in New Zealand. From any spot in England’s back three, Robinson could burst his way though opposition defences.
And while Abendanon may not be as explosive as Robinson, the effects are similar – men in his wake and the gain line broken.
But Nick Abendanon is now much more than a dangerous runner in broken play.
Earlier this season, he and Bath skills coach Brad Davis realised that he needed to improve some core skills if he was to reassert his claim for an England shirt.
Abendanon knuckled down to improving his catching under the high ball, as well as his kicking from hand.
After the rest of the squad had finished their training sessions, Abendanon and other members of the Bath back three would hang back. Davis would line up tackle bags and then put up high ball after high ball. The aim of the exercise was for the players to catch the bombs without knocking over the bags.
And the drill has clearly worked.
The Bath back three have been rock solid under the high ball of late with Abendanon – despite not being the tallest of men – excelling.
The 23-year-old picked up the last of his two England caps in 2007. And while his confidence was a bit wobbly during the early phases of this season after some poor decision-making, his performances ever since he extended his contract in February have been a joy to behold.
He is surely in the form of his life.
“From Bath’s perspective the guy who has been most spoken about this week is Nick Abendanon and we all feel he has been very unlucky not to make the Australian tour,” said head coach Steve Meehan.
It’s not unlucky – it’s unjust.

Follow Tom on Twitter: @TomJBradshaw

Strewth! It's time to liberalise the rules on where international rugby stars can play

2010-04-29T16:33:00.003+01:00

If I was a cynical member of the RFU, I might smell a rat at Julian Salvi's one-year sojourn at Bath Rugby.

Is he an Australian Rugby Union spy, uncovering the secrets of Northern Hemisphere rugby before returning south to report back to his spy-masters? And all this just a year before the World Cup. Hmmm, suspicious....

I jest, of course. But I actually believe the flanker's spell in Bath can carry some salutary lessons for rugby bosses across the globe.

Currently the men who run the national set-ups in Australia, South Africa and a whole host of other top-tier rugby union countries insist that players must ply their club trade in their homeland if they are to stand any chance of being picked for their national team.

This, to my mind, illustrates how parochialism, narrow-mindedness and an element of micro-management has crept into the way the game is run.

We live in a globalised world where – in many parts of the West – people, capital and goods can flow over national boundaries with little restriction. Yet a form of hidebound 'protectionism' exists in the way rugby is governed.

An England star might just get away with having the audacity to play club rugby in France but team manager Martin Johnson has made it plain that such a player will be all but discounted if he heads south of the equator.

Yet who are England's greatest rivals on the world stage? They are New Zealand, Australia and South Africa. And to beat your rivals, you need to understand how they operate.

So why aren't England's Elite Player Squad members free to take contracts with Southern Hemisphere clubs, given that such experiences would expose them to how key figures in rival national set-ups operate? It's insular; it's barmy.

Apologists of the current arrangements will point out that national coaches need to have their players close by for training camps but that can be circumvented by ensuring players have the appropriate clauses in their contracts to enable them to return for those sessions. It's not rocket science and the different perspective that those Antipodean-based players would bring to such sessions would surely be worth the air fare.

In my view, Salvi did something very canny in leaving Canberra for a year or so's spell with Bath. A rising star in the Australian rugby firmament, he can now return to his homeland with a firm grasp of what makes the Northern Hemisphere rugby world tick. He's played in Paris, Edinburgh, Belfast and Twickenham, not to mention all the main club stadia in England.

With a World Cup imminent, I would have thought such insights would be invaluable to the Australian Rugby Union. Couple that with his skills in the loose and he'd be in my Wallabies' squad in a flash.

I'm not advocating the wholesale migration of England's best players, nor do I want to see the Guinness Premiership turned into a procession of well-paid Southern Hemisphere show ponies, but the scales need to tip a little more in the direction of a laissez-faire arrangement.

Nurturing home-grown talent through Premiership clubs' academies is crucial for the future of English rugby but the RFU has to acknowledge that a player immersing themselves in a world-beating rugby culture a few thousand miles away isn't necessarily a bad thing for the Red Rose.

And that's why hanging such players as Melbourne-bound Danny Cipriani out to dry would be an act of short-sighted folly by the RFU.

Read more of my opinions at http://www.thisisbath.co.uk/bathrugby.

Follow me on Twitter: http://twitter.com/tomjbradshaw

Make sure you Bark up the right tree, Martin - go for Olly Barkley

2010-04-27T14:38:00.008+01:00

I'll have interviews with Julian Salvi and Michael Claassens in Thursday's Bath Chronicle following Bath Rugby's tremendous win at Twickenham, but until then, here's my take on the game against Wasps

Wasps 19, Bath Rugby 35

In all but name, this was a Guinness Premiership quarter-final. And Wasps were left hung, drawn and quartered by a swashbuckling executioner.
It may have been a smouldering Danny Cipriani - clutching an enormous sword - who graced the cover of the programme for this St George’s Day match. But Wasps’ poster boy was cut down to size by Olly Barkley, whose return to Twickenham served as one huge slap round the face for the England selectors.
Barkley, who last played for his country in the summer of 2008, did everything other than walk on water. Inspirational in defence, inspired in attack and ice cool from the kicking-tee, the Bath inside centre was an irrepressible and irresistible bundle of energy that Wasps could not contain.
He only returned to action in February after a broken leg. And his remarks after the final whistle will be as welcome to opposition defenders as a Taser shot from a rogue cop.
“I don’t feel nearly as fit or as fast as I can be,” said Barkley.
Well, Barkley was fit enough to direct Bath’s backline magnificently for the full 80 minutes, despite the warm April sunshine. And he was fast enough to track back and put in a try-saving tackle on Wasps and England wing Paul Sackey.
The inside centre was on the money with six out of seven shots on goal, set up two tries and scored one of his own. It was a performance of guile, guts and consistency.
Wasps did a superb job of ensuring this Saint’s Day clash was an occasion of tremendous theatre. British troops abseiled into the ground bearing super-sized flags of St George, and Land of Hope and Glory was belted out before the first whistle. But although the land at Twickenham may be about to become an annual home from home for Wasps, all the hope and glory was Bath’s on Saturday.
With Barkley scoring 20 points and Joe Maddock scoring a hat-trick of tries, the scoresheet may - in years to come - suggest that this was a game distinguished by great solo performances. But this match was about the collective.
It was about a squad of players who, for all their aching muscles and ebbing sugar levels, won their third game in eight days, thereby leapfrogging Wasps and London Irish into the top four.
Hooker Lee Mears’ contribution in the loose was exceptional, locks Danny Grewcock and Stuart Hooper were omnipresent, and the loose forwards slogged their guts out, comfortably outshining the more than handy Wasps backrow of Rees, Worsley and Ward-Smith.
Not to be outdone, the backs played with unremitting composure, energy and pace. Fly-half Butch James’s distribution was exquisite, full-back Nick Abendanon enhanced his reputation as the best broken-play runner in the Premiership, and skipper Michael Claassens kept his side on the front foot, despite having a nasty vomiting and diarrhoea bug.
Before Saturday, referee Wayne Barnes had officiated at 16 Bath matches - and Bath had won just five of them. And during the early exchanges that trend looked set to continue, with Cipriani landing two goals after Bath were penalised for straying offside and tackling high.
But then Barkley stepped forward and, kerpow, Bath put 18 points past their hosts in just 11 minutes.
After slotting over a 45m penalty goal with quarter-of-an-hour gone, Barkley was instrumental in Maddock’s first two tries. He drew the defence perfectly for the first, before setting up the second with a show-and-go dash through the Londoners’ midfield.
Bath lost Abendanon to the sin-bin in the 29th minute after he body-checked Tom Varndell. But Bath’s defence held firm during the full-back’s absence, despite Wasps sending wave after wave of runners into the under-manned Bath backline.
Cipriani fired over two more penalties and with Wasps dominating ball and territory in the opening minutes of the second half, the match was finely poised at 12-18.
But Maddock eased Bath nerves in the 57th minute by latching on to a Cipriani miss-pass and touching down between the posts. It was a game-breaking score, and Wasps’ resolve was broken.
Barkley slotted the conversion and then put the game well beyond the London side’s reach by landing a penalty and converting his own try.
“I think Olly’s going to travel to Australia for the England tour after that performance,” said Bath head coach Steve Meehan. “If it was up to me, I’d have him on the plane.”
Barkley, who admitted he received a phone call from England attack coach Brian Smith recently, was circumspect about whether he’d be adding to his 26 caps this summer.
“First things first, I want to get Bath into a Guinness Premiership final,” he remarked.
Wasps grabbed a consolation try in the 79th minute, just after Bath lost flanker Julian Salvi to the sin-bin for killing the ball. But Ben Jacobs’ effort was too little too late for a side which, after years of shattering other clubs’ play-off hopes, had received a taste of its own medicine.

Bath's Brucie Bonus promises much

2010-04-16T16:11:00.006+01:00

A fellow journalist recently observed, rather waggishly, that Bath had been the most professional team in English rugby during the amateur era, and had attempted to look the most amateur since the dawn of professionalism.

It was a little tongue-in-cheek, but the absence of a major piece of silverware since 1998 has rankled – and is in sharp contrast to Bath's glory days in the late 80s and early 90s.

The aura of an enduring amateurism at the club has been perpetuated by facilities that have been freely acknowledged to be sub-standard for a team with such a history and top-flight ambitions.

But now any suggestion that Bath lack the focus, planning and drive to truly make it in the professional era have been blown out of the water.

Andrew Brownsword – to whom Bath supporters owe a huge debt of gratitude, given the financially precarious position the club found itself in during the infancy of the professional era – has decided that the stewardship of the club needs to be handed on to a younger pair of hands.

Brownsword had a strict list of criteria he wanted the next owner to meet – and Bruce Craig (pictured right), it seems, met them with flying colours.

"Hurdles will be jumped by Bruce's passion and involvement," Brownsword told me yesterday. "He is absolutely the right person."

Instrumental in bringing Craig to Bath has been the club's new chief executive, Nick Blofeld, who was at university with the new chairman.

I'll let Craig tell the story of how Blofeld's involvement brought his uni pal to the club:

"Nick said to me a couple of years ago, 'What would you like to do now that you have made a lot of money'. I said I would love to buy a rugby club.

"Three months later it transpired that Nick spoke to someone at Bath Rugby at a conference, and they asked 'Do you know anyone who wants to buy a rugby club?' And Nick said 'As it happens, I do'."

The rest, as they say, is history.

Craig, given his background as a former rugby player, is, I imagine, likely to be a far more hands-on chairman than his predecessor. And given his announcement yesterday about plans for a new Bath Rugby HQ, it's clear he's hitting the ground running and already has his sleeves rolled up.

In the shadow of Farleigh Hungerford Castle, Bath's new headquarters will surely be a sight to behold. Play their cards right, and Bath could soon be elevated from being the perennial professional pretenders to being kings of the castle.

Olly's on track again

2010-03-29T17:20:00.008+01:00

In my previous posting, I raised the question of just how many playmaking wizards will still be with Bath Rugby next season.
My piece neglected to mention Olly Barkley - and after his performance against Harlequins on Saturday, that now looks like a terrible omission.
Having been out for seven months and only three games into his comeback, Barkley's profile was pretty low going into the Quins match.
But his 14-point haul - which included a try, mighty long-range place-kicking and tremendous handling - has propelled him back into the limelight in a big way.
Bath coach Steve Meehan is already taling up Barkley's chances of returning to the England set-up. And the fact that England attack coach Brian Smith was at The Rec to watch Barkley's masterful display will have done his international ambitions no harm at all.
With Riki Flutey all but anonynous during the 6 Nations, the door is ajar for Barkley.
Should the 28-year-old remain injury-free over the next year-and-a-half, then I wouldn't bet against him being a pivotal part of England's 2011 World Cup outfit.

Who will wave the wand at The Rec next season?

2010-03-25T08:24:00.002Z

Just as every rugby side needs its workhorses, every side needs its magicians. And I fear there could be a shortage of wands at Bath Rugby next season.
Magicians are the players who, in attack, can bewitch the opposition, either with a scything sidestep, an unpredictable play or a preternatural act of vision that puts teammates into space.
Among the Bath players who cast the most potent of spells is full-back Nick Abendanon. His runs from deep get fans on their feet and put Bath on the front foot. The fact he currently lies third in the Guinness Premiership chart for most metres covered with ball in hand is nothing short of remarkable given that he has missed six weeks with injury.
So it is all to the good that Abendanon has committed his future to Bath, despite the offer of a move to new Super 15 franchise Melbourne Rebels.
Alongside Abendanon, I’d confer magician status on Butch James, Joe Maddock and Julian Salvi. And what’s worrying me is that none of that trio may be at The Rec next season.
Salvi, not unexpectedly, is heading home to Canberra to fill the shoes vacated by George Smith at the ACT Brumbies, although there is the possibility of him playing at Bath next season until the start of the Super 15 in December.
From the moment I first met Salvi, I never felt he would stay at Bath for the full two seasons, as his deal allowed. With his partner and young son remaining in Australia, the smart money was always on him delivering a short, sharp, shock to the Guinness Premiership before heading back to the Southern Hemisphere and a tilt at the Wallaby side for the 2011 World Cup.
But what a season he has provided for Bath. Fearless and ferocious, he has proved himself a Brutus at the breakdown, playing with sufficient ruthlessness and tirelessness to reduce ex-Bath captain and openside Michael Lipman to a distant memory. Salvi’s cheeky 22 drop-outs and unlikely ruck steals will linger in the memory long after he is back in Australia.
So Salvi’s fate looks reasonably clear. But what of James and Maddock?
James is like a thoroughbred racehorse that’s been everywhere and won everything but opinion is divided about whether the mount’s knees are up to another Durban Derby. The authorities back in South Africa are pondering whether it’s worth shelling out a small fortune to get him back on his home track.
It’s clear James wants to return to South Africa, despite his declaration back in October 2008 that he was a “one club man” and would be remaining at Bath until 2012.
Frustratingly for Bath, since the start of his current three-year deal – which kicked in at the start of the current season – James has played a total of just 162 minutes of rugby, sidelined as he has been by a serious knee injury and then a heavily bruised shoulder. No wonder the Bath management are keen to get more time out of him, notwithstanding his indefatigable efforts since he joined the club in 2007.
Last week James made remarks to me that made it clear his people were seeking a way for him to return to his homeland. And the vibe coming from Durban over the past week has reinforced the impression that a return to the Sharks is likely, provided that a deal can be struck on compensating Bath for the loss of a truly world-class playmaker. One source close to the Sharks has said Bath are seeking compensation of more than £400,000.
So the big question is whether the Sharks, in conjunction with the South African Rugby Union, are prepared to buy him out of his Bath deal. The answer to that is not yet clear, although it would benefit all parties if clarity came sooner rather than later.
Clarity, too, is needed over Maddock’s future. Out of sorts at the start of the season, last year’s leading Guinness Premiership try-scorer was back in excellent form before the recent hiatus in Bath’s fixture list. He may be getting on a bit but his sidestep and killer instinct are as sharp as ever. Just ask Worcester’s Chris Latham, whom he embarrassed a few weeks ago.
As has been seen with Abendanon, players invariably perform better once they know where they’re going to be the following year. After four months of negotiations with the club, I understand Maddock is now days away from making a decision about whether to stay or pursue options back in his native New Zealand or on the Continent. It will boil down to lifestyle issues for his family as much as rugby. Bath fans will be praying the little magician stays put.

Who are you backing at the big match?

2010-03-19T11:11:00.001Z

Could the impossible actually occur this weekend at the big match?
Will the team we sometimes struggle to support manage to cause an upset over the in-form side of the tournament?
Well, I don’t know what you think, but I reckon Gloucester might just do it.
The final of the LV= Cup – or the Anglo-Welsh Cup, to you and me – takes place on Sunday, and I have to confess the prospect of the Cherry and Whites taking on Northampton Saints in a winner- takes-all affair has whetted my appetite, even if the match has fallen under the radar a bit.
Along with Bath, it is Gloucester and Northampton who are now playing the most attractive rugby in England, principally because they are not afraid to take that controversial step of spinning the ball wide to their outside backs.
These three sides are living, breathing, try-scoring proof that the Saracens Attitude to Play (SAP) is not the best way to crack the Guinness Premiership nut, but is in fact a guaranteed way of sapping the joy out of the game.
Northampton speedster Chris Ashton has scored more tries this season than some entire teams have managed, all because his team-mates and coaches have grasped that – wonder of wonders – it sometimes pays to get the ball to your line-breakers.
Meanwhile, wing Matt Banahan has touched down in four of Bath’s last five games, while James Simpson-Daniel’s hat-trick for Gloucester against Cardiff Blues in the semi-final of the Anglo- Welsh at the weekend only served to underline how devastatingly effective it can be to get the ball to your speed merchants.
Bath, Gloucester and Northampton are all chucking the ball around and running in tries at the moment. And that’s why they’re winning. Contrast that with England’s efforts during the Six Nations.
With the exception of their opening fixture against Wales, when Martin Johnson’s men achieved the almost unthinkable by scoring three tries, England have lacked any semblance of a cutting edge.
The figure speaks for itself: in their last three games, England have scored two tries. And neither was from a conventional move down the backs. Mathew Tait’s try against Italy might have been the result of neat counter-attacking play and deft handing. But how often have you seen the national side spread the ball wide this Six Nations with real panache, pace and confidence?
Of course I’ll watch England’s finale on Paris on Saturday evening, and I hope to be pleasantly surprised. Perhaps England will run riot over the French, just as they did at Twickenham last season. But I won’t be holding my breath.
No, the Anglo-Welsh Cup final promises to be a far more enjoyable spectacle for English fans – a chance to watch two attack- minded sides going at it.
And I hope Gloucester win. Like Bath, the Cherry and Whites’ season has had its wobbles. Less than three months ago impatient sections of Kingsholm were calling for coach Bryan Redpath’s head. But, like Bath, Gloucester have turned things around through a blend of application, rising confidence and a readiness to put width on the ball.
The similarity of Gloucester’s tumultuous season to Bath’s must surely cause a degree of sympathy in Bath fans.
So, go on, through gritted teeth on Sunday, I dare you to say ‘Glaaaawwster’.

Boring, boring Saracens

2010-03-08T15:10:00.003Z

Jason Robinson's first season as a coach isn't exactly a bed of roses, what with Sale sinking to the foot of the Guinness Premiership. But I've just started reading his autobiography, Finding My Feet, and I can't help being catapulted back to those great Billy Whizz on-field moments. You know the stuff: those scything Six Nations bursts, the try in the 2003 World Cup final, the skinning of Christophe Dominici.
A couple of days after I began reading Robinson's book, I travelled to Watford to cover Saracens' Guinness Premiership match with Bath. The contrast was stark. Here was my response in my weekly column for The Bath Chronicle:

At what price victory? If triumph on the rugby field comes at the expense of all entertainment, is there really any point in 30 blokes – and importantly, thousands of supporters – turning up for a match?

Much has been made this season of the style of play that Brendan Venter has been cultivating at Saracens. The South African director of rugby has been seeking to emulate the kind of approach that his national side has honed over the past couple of years: get your backs chasing the high ball, tackle your opponents hard, and slot over the penalty kicks when the other chaps creak.

It is a game-plan that gave Sarries, for a brief period in the first half of this season, an aura of muscular invincibility. But the cracks are now beginning to show in this remorselessly and tediously one-dimensional style of play.

Sarries' problem is that they aren't prepared to deviate from Plan A, not even for a second. They are in a tactical straitjacket, and instead of playing what's in front of them, they are playing like automatons, doing only what they have been ordered to do by the uncompromising Dr Venter.

It's one thing to read how achingly boring Saracens are, it is another thing altogether to watch how achingly boring Saracens are.

Saracens have a more-than-decent inside centre in Brad Barritt, the England Saxons midfielder. But his fly-half Derick Hougaard, as far as I could observe, didn't once opt to use him during Bath's visit to Vicarage Road on Sunday. Instead, Hougaard put high ball after high ball up into the air, balls which Matt Banahan and Nick Abendanon were more than equal to.

"Throughout the whole game they never threw one backline play at us," said Banahan to me yesterday. " I don't think our 12 or 13 made a tackle the whole game. It shows how negative their structure is."

Saracens 10-man style of rugby doesn't even play to their strengths at the moment. With a pack enervated by Six Nations absentees and the odd injury, they don't have the muscle to turn the screws at the breakdown. Moreover, it reduces to close to zero the attacking opportunities for such fleet-footed backs as full-back Alex Goode, whose career would surely be better served by him joining a club with a more open style. Bath, for example.

When Jason Robinson first dipped his toe in the waters of union in 1996, he spent the rugby league off-season at The Rec.

When the then Bath coach, Brian Ashton, opted to play the speedster at full-back, he bet Robinson – not known for his fondness of the boot – that he would be forced to make at least one kick.

Robinson ran everything out of his own 22 and Ashton lost his little wager.

Few would question Sarries' potential. But they need to leaven their kicking game with a smidgen of Robinson's spirit of '96.

Bath locate the keys once more

2010-02-18T15:35:00.006Z

Back in July, before he had got his feet under his desk at Bath Rugby's offices in Argyle Street, Bath's chief executive-to-be, Nick Blofeld, pictured, explained to me what he liked about head coach Steve Meehan's strategy.

"The biggest compliment I can pay Steve is to express my admiration at Bath's ability to unlock defences," he said. "It's incomparable – and that's the most important part of rugby."

During the opening half of this season, Blofeld must at times have wondered whether the keys which Bath used to open up Premiership sides had been misplaced for good.

With a backline that struggled to get on the front foot it often seemed that breaching the gainline, let alone the tryline, was an unlikely outcome when Bath kept the ball in hand.

There was the odd cause for optimism, of course. Nick Abendanon continued to conjure up the odd break from deep, while Matt Banahan's first-half performance against Stade Francais proved the Bath backs could still penetrate when the game was played at the right tempo.

Overwhelmingly, however, Bath's attacking play up to Christmas was a poor shadow of what it had been a year earlier – more blunt kitchen knife than whetted scythe.

But Blofeld stood full square behind Meehan, extending the Australian's contract and giving him unstinting backing during those dark days of a winless October.

Now there are hints that such unqualified support is yielding an early spring for Bath. With three wins on the bounce in the Premiership and a total of 75 points put over the opposition in the past fortnight, there's a sense that Bath aren't far from knocking the floodgates down.

In recent weeks there has been a pace, a variety and a composure to their play that had previously been absent this season.

Inevitably, many – including team-mates – have credited the return of Butch James as being the key to all this. And it's surely no coincidence that Bath's form has gone up two gears since the South African's return from injury.

James is walking proof that the much overused adjective beloved of sports journalists – 'talismanic' – can have a fit and proper application.

And what's encouraging for Bath is that another man who can lay claim to the T word, Olly Barkley, is on the verge of a return to action, too.

Both James and Barkley are enthusiastic exponents of that expansive style of play that has become Bath's trademark – and from which the side, even in its darkest hour, has never deviated.

So Blofeld's faith in Meehan and Meehan's faith in the brand of running rugby that he has developed during his tenure at the club seems to be reaping dividends.

A couple of wins on the trot doesn't mean that summer has arrived early but over recent months Bath have proved that – like a good marriage – fidelity through the tough times can make the good times even sweeter.

Read more of my opinions here

Just because you're in the England squad...

2010-02-12T08:02:00.002Z

"I'm looking forward to next week's selection meeting," said Bath assistant coach Brad Davis after his side's destruction of Sale Sharks at the weekend. "It should be pretty tasty."

I bet it was delicious. And I bet it was a more cheerful affair than previous selection get-togethers at Bath this season.

Davis was due to sit down with head coach Steve Meehan and forwards coach Martin Haag on Tuesday to decide on the team for Sunday's trip to Reading to take on London Irish.

That meeting is likely to have taken place before Martin Johnson officially announced which of his England squad members would be released to play for their clubs this weekend. But the question many of those who saw Bath on Saturday will be asking is whether the England squad members discharged back to The Rec should get a spot in the starting XV anyway.

Should you make changes to a team that was so dominant just a few days earlier, regardless of how good the returning cavalry is?

Matt Banahan, Shontayne Hape and Lee Mears are all back in Bath now, Johnson having decided they are surplus to requirements for England's trip to the Stadia Flaminio in Rome this weekend.

The issue of Banahan's inclusion in the Bath starting XV on Sunday is a vexed one – a concept that would have seemed unthinkable only a month ago.

If the Jerseyman is included in Meehan's starting XV for the encounter with London Irish, then that will have to be at the expense of the in-form Michael Stephenson or Joe Maddock. The equation is further complicated by the presence of Jack Cuthbert, who didn't do much wrong against Sale.

Maddock's form has not been consistent this season but recent signs have been positive and his sidestep certainly hasn't deserted him. And the man who was the Guinness Premiership's leading try-scorer last season has to get off the mark at some point this term.

And what about Hape? The centre has started every Guinness Premiership and Heineken Cup match for his club so far this season and many might regard his selection at inside centre against the Exiles as a formality.

But before Hape is chosen at 12, Bath need to decide who's taking the place kicks on Sunday.

If, as would seem sensible, Butch James is allowed to concentrate on his play-making rather than worrying about goal-kicking, then Ryan Davis may just slot in at 12 on Sunday, with Hape moving to outside centre. That would be my selection anyway, especially given Davis' excellent showing against Sale and the way he interacted in midfield with James.

It would also prime Hape for the outside centre role, a position he is set to fill on a more permanent basis once Olly Barkley returns.

And Mears? He played well enough in the second half against Sale but for me Pieter Dixon showed sufficient creativity in the loose and solidity at the set piece to retain the hooker jersey.

Such genuine competition for places augurs well for Bath. After all, who, even just a few weeks ago, would have thought there'd be room for debate about whether Bath's England contingent should be selected for their club?

Bath's South African connection comes to the fore

2010-02-04T13:03:00.005Z

There are various plots and sub-plots running through Bath Rugby's season. Chief among them is a South African narrative, and it has three strands to it.

At various stages this term, each of Bath's South African players has had pressure heaped on his shoulders. And the story of Bath's season will, in no small part, depend on how those players – Michael Claassens, Luke Watson and Butch James – respond to that pressure.

The first part of the narrative is Michael Claassens' captaincy. Claassens has been supping from what has been a toxic chalice ever since he took on the Bath armband in the wake of the summer's drug allegations.

His appointment was something I whole-heartedly supported. Following the party-culture – perceived or otherwise – that had grown up around the club's previous captain, Bath needed a steady, responsible hand on the tiller. A married workhorse like Claassens was just the ticket.

Unfortunately for Claassens and unfortunately for everyone associated with the club, the fallout from the summer cut deeper than anyone could have predicted. In those circumstances, leading a team was always going to be tricky. Even Martin Johnson would face a stiff task.

The denouement to Claassens' captaincy is not yet worked out, largely because it depends on the successes or otherwise of his compatriots.

And that takes us to the second thread. There was no shortage of excitement in the build-up to Luke Watson flying in from Cape Town in November. As the hysteria mounted, head coach Steve Meehan cautioned against fans viewing him as a 'messiah' but the charismatic forward hasn't disappointed.

The plot of Watson's life is itself an intriguing one and it's clear his ambitions for Bath are the very opposite of modest. And there's no doubt his arrival has injected spine and audacity into the Bath pack.

"Pressure is under-rated," Watson declared within minutes of walking on to The Rec. And it is a mentality that he has reflected in his play. Nothing perturbs him.

Is Watson a captain in waiting? The principal arguments in favour of this are that: a) he is a natural leader with a proven record in successfully captaining a team, and b) by arriving after the summer's shenanigans he carries no Bath baggage.

But Claassens as captain with Watson as pack leader may yet turn out to be the best formula for Bath. That's because I'd argue that, in the absence of Butch James playing outside him during such a difficult period, we've yet to see the best of Claassens as a skipper.

And so to our final installment of Bath's South African chronicles, Butch James (pictured).

If there was a certain expectation around Watson's arrival, then the expectation around James' return from injury is even stronger, despite his gammy knees.

With the exception of that inspiring first-half performance against Stade Francais at The Rec, moments of attacking guile and brilliance from Bath have been few and far between this season. That dearth of flair has stemmed from neither Nicky Little nor Ryan Davis having shown sufficient consistency or dynamism at fly-half to get the backs firing.

As James has acknowledged, there is pressure on him and he was only half-joking this week when he said that he wished Olly Barkley was returning for the Sale game too, as that would dilute some of the focus on him.

The dream denouement for Bath fans is that James comes back all guns blazing, thereby making his half-back partner relax into his captaincy role. Watson, meanwhile, elevates the Bath pack's belief with a string of uncompromising showings.

Fact or fiction? We'll know in a couple of months.

Fronting up to England's problems

2010-01-22T11:33:00.005Z

Does anyone, even Martin Johnson, know what's going on in England's front-row? With Julian White - who has been sidelined since October with a hamstring tear - preferred ahead of Duncan Bell, and the out-of-form Tim Payne also in the EPS, I can't help feeling England are going to be mightily vulnerable up front in the Six Nations.

My interview with Duncan Bell on Tuesday only served to stregthen my view that the England management are in a muddle about what to do in the front-row.

Shontayne Hape's shaping up nicely

2010-01-14T16:21:00.004Z

Funnily enough, the start of my career as a rugby writer coincided with the start of Shontayne Hape's career in rugby union. Fifteen months ago - after he scored his first try for Bath (against Sale in the Anglo-Welsh Cup) - I interviewed him at Edgeley Park.
And a nicer, more grounded gent you could not wish to find.
That's why I wasn't surprised when Bath coach Steve Meehan praised Hape's modesty and work ethic yesterday, just minutes after it was announced that the 28-year-old had been picked by Martin Johnson for England Six Nations campaign.
There's nothing of the Cipriani Syndrome about Shontayne. A family man with two young boys, the New Zealand-born centre isn't going to let his ego balloon now the media's lenses and microphones are pointed in his direction.
Read my interview with Meehan here