Bath skipper Stuart Hooper tells me that lifting silverware this season will mean little if he doesn’t eventually leave an enduring legacy of leadership at the club.
The lock forward, who is captaining Bath for a fourth successive season, turns 33 in November and admits to thinking about the kind of place he wants The Rec to be once he decides to hang up his boots.
“If I’ve left nothing behind it’s pointless,” says Hooper, who signed a one-year contract extension last season. “When I’ve gone, what’s left afterwards will be the true measure as to what I’ve done as captain.
“I want to leave players who are the next leaders.
“Four consecutive years is a huge honour and I’m hugely chuffed, but for me it’s about how good we can get this squad.
“A massive role for me is developing the leaders for now and for the future."
Sunday, 14 September 2014
Wednesday, 30 July 2014
Why Rugby Sevens at the Rio Olympics won't need George North and Co. in order to be special
So, International Rugby Board boss Brett Gosper is turning up the heat to make sure Unions release their big-name players for the Sevens at the Rio Olympic Games.
He has a point - but only up to a point. While it would, arguably, make box office and PR sense to have rugby's biggest names representing their countries at Sevens at the Olympics, let's remember these guys are specialists of the 15-a-side game - a very different kettle of fish to the seven-minute halves of Sevens.
There are centrally-contracted players who tour the globe playing Sevens for their countries for a living. They have a specific skill-set and a specific training regime.
To parachute in big names at their expense would be an insult - to Sevens players, to spectators, and to the game itself.
And given the compelling drama and top-notch skills on display at the Commonwealth Games Sevens at the weekend, do we really need to have the big-name 'star dust' sprinkled on the Olympics?
No, we don't. Sevens is an attractive enough proposition without the need for Chris Ashton, Sonny Bill Williams or George North to temporarily take up the game.
Let's make sure the stars of Sevens shine for themselves - and aren't artificially eclipsed by their better-known 15-a-side peers.
He has a point - but only up to a point. While it would, arguably, make box office and PR sense to have rugby's biggest names representing their countries at Sevens at the Olympics, let's remember these guys are specialists of the 15-a-side game - a very different kettle of fish to the seven-minute halves of Sevens.
There are centrally-contracted players who tour the globe playing Sevens for their countries for a living. They have a specific skill-set and a specific training regime.
To parachute in big names at their expense would be an insult - to Sevens players, to spectators, and to the game itself.
And given the compelling drama and top-notch skills on display at the Commonwealth Games Sevens at the weekend, do we really need to have the big-name 'star dust' sprinkled on the Olympics?
No, we don't. Sevens is an attractive enough proposition without the need for Chris Ashton, Sonny Bill Williams or George North to temporarily take up the game.
Let's make sure the stars of Sevens shine for themselves - and aren't artificially eclipsed by their better-known 15-a-side peers.
Can the boardroom and the boot-room mix?
Is a rugby club in danger of becoming an autocratic place when the chairman decides to put the word 'executive' in front of his title? Following the management changes at Bath Rugby, here are a few thoughts from my column in the Bath Chronicle.
Friday, 11 July 2014
Bath Rugby deal with Dyson is far from hot air
Unlike overseas sides, it's rare for top-flight English rugby clubs to have a recognised global brand as a sponsor. For example, while Toulon have Volkswagen, Gloucester have ADEY MagnaClean.
So Bath Rugby's deal with Dyson is notable. I explain here why this partnership is not your ordinary, common-or-garden commercial deal, and why it could change the face of rugby in the West Country.
So Bath Rugby's deal with Dyson is notable. I explain here why this partnership is not your ordinary, common-or-garden commercial deal, and why it could change the face of rugby in the West Country.
Tuesday, 17 June 2014
Stuart Lancaster's class as coach shown through Freddie Burns' performance
If a coach’s report card is determined by how well he gets the best out of previously misfiring players, then Stuart Lancaster is currently edging towards an A+.
Eyebrows were raised when the England head coach announced he would start Freddie Burns ahead of the in-form Danny Cipriani at fly-half for the first Test against the All Blacks in Auckland.
To say that Burns had an out of sorts season at Gloucester would be an understatement. Low on confidence and high on mistakes, Burns’ dip in form personified the Cherry and Whites’ more general malaise.
There were predictions from some quarters that the All Blacks would be licking their lips at the prospect of targeting England’s midfield, not least because Burns would be partnered by Bath Rugby’s Kyle Eastmond, another player who struggled to win selection for his club towards the end of the season.
What piffle that turned out to be.
Burns and Eastmond were superb, playing with assurance and guile in equal measure. Rather than being the weak link in a weakened England team, they were a potent attacking fulcrum and also solidly controlled the defensive line.
In had been forgotten by many that, only a year ago, Burns and Eastmond wreaked mayhem on England’s tour of Argentina, tearing the Pumas’ backline to pieces. (For proof of Eastmond's potency on that tour, see the video below.) Neither had won a further England cap since that 2013 trip to South America, but when they took to the field at Eden Park on Saturday they carried on from where they had left off in Buenos Aires.
Lancaster’s capacity to get the very best out of Burns and Eastmond speaks volumes not only about his on-field training methods but also his psychological preparation of players.
In sport, you are only ever one heavy defeat away from having your bubble burst. But at the moment, England are gaining altitude ahead of the World Cup at a decent rate.
Eyebrows were raised when the England head coach announced he would start Freddie Burns ahead of the in-form Danny Cipriani at fly-half for the first Test against the All Blacks in Auckland.
To say that Burns had an out of sorts season at Gloucester would be an understatement. Low on confidence and high on mistakes, Burns’ dip in form personified the Cherry and Whites’ more general malaise.
There were predictions from some quarters that the All Blacks would be licking their lips at the prospect of targeting England’s midfield, not least because Burns would be partnered by Bath Rugby’s Kyle Eastmond, another player who struggled to win selection for his club towards the end of the season.
What piffle that turned out to be.
Burns and Eastmond were superb, playing with assurance and guile in equal measure. Rather than being the weak link in a weakened England team, they were a potent attacking fulcrum and also solidly controlled the defensive line.
In had been forgotten by many that, only a year ago, Burns and Eastmond wreaked mayhem on England’s tour of Argentina, tearing the Pumas’ backline to pieces. (For proof of Eastmond's potency on that tour, see the video below.) Neither had won a further England cap since that 2013 trip to South America, but when they took to the field at Eden Park on Saturday they carried on from where they had left off in Buenos Aires.
Kyle Eastmond in action in Argentina
Lancaster’s capacity to get the very best out of Burns and Eastmond speaks volumes not only about his on-field training methods but also his psychological preparation of players.
In sport, you are only ever one heavy defeat away from having your bubble burst. But at the moment, England are gaining altitude ahead of the World Cup at a decent rate.
Thursday, 29 May 2014
Give Gavin Henson another shot with Wales, says club-mate Paul James
Gavin Henson may not be playing in tomorrow's Probables versus Possibles trial match for Wales due to player release issues emanating from the English club game's governing body, Premiership Rugby.
But Wales and Bath prop Paul James says his club-mate still deserves another shot at playing for his country.
Along with Henson, James has been told by Bath that he won’t be released for the trial match because it falls outside the IRB Test window that starts two days later.
But irrespective of that restriction, 53-cap prop James believes Henson should figure in Warren Gatland’s plans for the summer tour of South Africa.
“I don’t see why Gavin doesn’t deserve a chance,” says James. “He’s getting back to the player of old who can win games for you.
“His leadership this season and his performances when he’s come on have been great for Bath.”
What a shame, then, that the rules relating to player release can't be relaxed in this instance - especially given that Bath don't have another game until September, and given that the club has made great play of its desire to see its players representing their countries.
Along with Henson, James has been told by Bath that he won’t be released for the trial match because it falls outside the IRB Test window that starts two days later.
But irrespective of that restriction, 53-cap prop James believes Henson should figure in Warren Gatland’s plans for the summer tour of South Africa.
“I don’t see why Gavin doesn’t deserve a chance,” says James. “He’s getting back to the player of old who can win games for you.
“His leadership this season and his performances when he’s come on have been great for Bath.”
What a shame, then, that the rules relating to player release can't be relaxed in this instance - especially given that Bath don't have another game until September, and given that the club has made great play of its desire to see its players representing their countries.
Friday, 2 May 2014
Nick Abendanon: the Top 14's gain, the Premiership's loss
Barring some implausible results over the final couple of Premiership weekends, Nick Abendanon will play his final match at The Recreation Ground tonight.
The full-back will bring down the curtain on eight seasons at Bath. Over the summer, he will head to French heavyweights Clermont Auvergne, where the Top 14 will no doubt be hoping for moments such as this:
So the time is ripe for evaluation.
The received wisdom doing the rounds at the moment is that Abendanon is in the form of his life, and that Bath will miss him deeply next season.
Perhaps paradoxically, I agree with the second half of that statement but not the first. Yes, Abendanon will be sorely missed next campaign - Bath currently look thin on the ground at full-back next season (one of their few squad weaknesses for 2014-15) - but I dispute the notion that The Rec has never previously seen Abedanon in such form.
He was named Bath's Players' Player of the Season for three years on the spin during the Steve Meehan and Ian McGeechan eras at The Rec. Within the club, he was venerated. Outside the club (particularly where it mattered: around the table of the England selectors), he was regarded with some wariness - a player who could conjure something out of thin air, but who could then negate the act of genius with an act of daftness.
By his own admission, Abendanon did mar his game with the odd howler during the early years of his career. But for too long, Abendanon has been penalised in the present for the sins of the past. The stigma has hung around, which accounts for why he has never built on the two England caps he received at the start of his career.
Having watched Abendanon most weekends for the past six years, it makes me laugh - or despair - when his defensive qualities or 'physicality' are questioned. For a man of a naturally modest frame, Abendanon has made it something of a trademark to break the first tackle of burly forwards. And his character is encapsulated by the way he soldiered on through this often illegal onslaught by the Tuilagi brothers during one compelling encounter with Leicester:
That's not to say that Abendanon isn't in some respects a more polished player now. Nowadays, he's more pragmatic than pyrotechnic, although he's still capable of setting off more than a few rockets.
His lines of running show increasing maturity as he reads the game better and better with age. His work popping up at first and second-receiver has also been hugely assured this season.
So, sure, Nick Abendanon has been in cracking form during his Bath swansong. But the truth is he's been in cracking form for years and years.
The Top 14's gain, the Premiership - and England's - loss.
The full-back will bring down the curtain on eight seasons at Bath. Over the summer, he will head to French heavyweights Clermont Auvergne, where the Top 14 will no doubt be hoping for moments such as this:
So the time is ripe for evaluation.
The received wisdom doing the rounds at the moment is that Abendanon is in the form of his life, and that Bath will miss him deeply next season.
Perhaps paradoxically, I agree with the second half of that statement but not the first. Yes, Abendanon will be sorely missed next campaign - Bath currently look thin on the ground at full-back next season (one of their few squad weaknesses for 2014-15) - but I dispute the notion that The Rec has never previously seen Abedanon in such form.
He was named Bath's Players' Player of the Season for three years on the spin during the Steve Meehan and Ian McGeechan eras at The Rec. Within the club, he was venerated. Outside the club (particularly where it mattered: around the table of the England selectors), he was regarded with some wariness - a player who could conjure something out of thin air, but who could then negate the act of genius with an act of daftness.
By his own admission, Abendanon did mar his game with the odd howler during the early years of his career. But for too long, Abendanon has been penalised in the present for the sins of the past. The stigma has hung around, which accounts for why he has never built on the two England caps he received at the start of his career.
Having watched Abendanon most weekends for the past six years, it makes me laugh - or despair - when his defensive qualities or 'physicality' are questioned. For a man of a naturally modest frame, Abendanon has made it something of a trademark to break the first tackle of burly forwards. And his character is encapsulated by the way he soldiered on through this often illegal onslaught by the Tuilagi brothers during one compelling encounter with Leicester:
That's not to say that Abendanon isn't in some respects a more polished player now. Nowadays, he's more pragmatic than pyrotechnic, although he's still capable of setting off more than a few rockets.
His lines of running show increasing maturity as he reads the game better and better with age. His work popping up at first and second-receiver has also been hugely assured this season.
So, sure, Nick Abendanon has been in cracking form during his Bath swansong. But the truth is he's been in cracking form for years and years.
The Top 14's gain, the Premiership - and England's - loss.
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