All Black Donald fits the bill for Bath Rugby chairman Craig

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

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

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

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?

Watch the fly-half rumour mill spin at Bath Rugby

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

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?

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.