Bath Rugby

Bath Rugby

Full name	Bath Rugby
Union	Somerset RFU
Founded	1865; 156 years ago (1865)
Location	Bath, Somerset, England
Ground(s)	The Recreation Ground (Capacity: 14,509)
Chairman	Bruce Craig
CEO	Tarquin McDonald (MD)
Director of Rugby	Stuart Hooper
Captain(s)	Charlie Ewels
Most caps	David Barnes (183)
Top scorer	Olly Barkley (1,463)
Most tries	Tony Swift (161)
League(s)	Premiership Rugby
2020-21	7th
1st kit 2nd kit
Official website
www.bathrugby.com

Bath Rugby is a professional rugby union club in Bath, Somerset, England. They play in Premiership Rugby, England's top division of rugby.

Founded in 1865 as Bath Football Club, since 1894 the club has played at the Recreation Ground in the city centre. The club has won 18 major trophies and was particularly successful between 1984 and 1998 when it won 10 Domestic Cups, 6 Courage League titles and were the first English side to win the European Cup in 1998. In 2008 they also won the European Challenge Cup, the continent's second tier of competition.

In the 2020–21 Premiership Rugby season Bath finished 7th, entitling them to compete in the 2021–22 European Rugby Champions Cup. The current director of rugby is Stuart Hooper, who was appointed in May 2019.

History[]

Amateur era[]

Bath Football Club is one of the oldest clubs in existence, having been founded in 1865 by members of Lansdown Cricket Club in Bath (founded 1825) for 'something to do in the winter'.^[1] This is the reason why the club colours of the two clubs are identical. With an original home base at North Parade, Bath then led a nomadic existence during the 1800s playing at Claverton Down, Lambridge Meadows, Taylor's Field and Henrietta Park. They then leased a plot of land at Pulteney Meadow, where today's Rec stands. With most games played against local opposition: Weston-super-Mare, Gloucester, Clifton and the "Arabs" from Bristol. By the 1890s, Welsh clubs were starting to become regular opponents, with Cardiff and Penarth regularly appearing in the fixture list. With a traditionally lightweight pack, they would suffer regular defeats. The club played its first fixture against overseas opposition in 1907, as Racing Club de Bordelais crossed the Channel to play at the Rec. 1954 saw a first overseas tour by Bath, who beat the French teams St Claude (23–3). Givors (9–6) and Tour du Pin (17–0).

The trip was repeated the following year with wins against St Claude (13–8), Dijon (14–0) and Macon (8–3) as captain Peter Sibley was the first to develop the ethos for fast, attacking rugby in the Sixties.

With six-foot four-inch players such as England international back row David Gay, Peter Heindorff, Sibley had players with physique to impose this style of play. With the mercurial John Horton and the incisive Mike Beese, the side continued to develop Bath's reputation in the early Seventies with wins over the top Welsh sides. However, the revolution began with the arrival of coach Jack Rowell in 1978. Rowell transformed the ethos of a club that had traditionally drawn its players from the immediate locality. When formalised competitions started in the 1980s Jack Rowell brought premature professionalism to Bath and began to assemble a side with power and precision. The power, provided by Gareth Chilcott and Roger Spurrell was complemented by the precision of John Horton and winger David Trick.

By 1984, the first of ten knock-out cup successes had been achieved, at the expense of Bristol. Bath dominated the John Player Cup winning it four years on a trot, from 1984 to 1987. The cup sponsor changed to Pilkington, and Bath after a blip in 1988 dominated that cup as well winning it a further six times.

The formal league structure started in 1987 and Bath dominated the early years of the competition winning six times in eight years and doing the "double" four times. Bath were an unstoppable force in 1988–89 and ran away with the league title, winning the first ten of their eleven league matches. Their only defeat was at Leicester in the last game of the season, when Bath, with the title already won, rested several key players. The two sides met again a week later in the Pilkington Cup final at Twickenham which Bath won 10–6 to become the first English club to wrap up the double of winning both League and Cup.

1990 saw the last of six consecutive Twickenham final wins, defeating Gloucester 48–6.

1993–94 saw a unique "Grand Slam" of titles. In addition to the league (played on a home and away basis for the first time), the team won the Pilkington Cup (beating Leicester, with tries from Tony Swift and a youthful Mike Catt), the Middlesex Sevens (beating Orrell in the Final) and the Worthington Tens. Arguably the most "professional" amateur club side in English history, Bath has struggled to match the achievements of the Eighties and early Nineties.

In May 1996, Bath Rugby and Wigan RLFC made history by playing against each other at both codes. The first match was at Maine Road, Manchester under League rules and saw Bath struggle, eventually losing 82-6. In the return fixture under Union rules at Twickenham, Bath were able to regain a measure of pride by beating Wigan 44-19.

Professional era[]

This article needs to be updated. Please help update this article to reflect recent events or newly available information. (October 2021)

Jack Rowell's departure (to take control of the England team) in 1995 and rugby union becoming a professional sport in 1996 has seen Bath struggle to find consistency either on or off the field. With regular changes in the coaching staff (including Andy Robinson's appointment as England's head coach) and with a seemingly steady turnaround of players, the formula that led to past successes is still being sought. However, Bath captained by Andy Nicol still managed to be the first British club to lift the Heineken Cup, in the 1997–1998 season. Bath beat French club Brive 19–18 in an exciting final in Bordeaux with Jon Callard scoring all the points for Bath.

Despite European glory, Bath slumped to sixth in the league the next season. In the disastrous league campaign of 2002–03, relegation was avoided by only a single point on the last day.

Having narrowly avoided relegation and merger with bitter rivals Bristol in the 2002–03 season, the club invested heavily in its squad, with no fewer than 15 changes in personnel during the summer of 2003. Jack Rowell and Michael Foley recruited wisely and the appointment of John Connolly as head coach helped gel the players into a formidable unit and the team ended the regular season at the top of the table six points clear of Wasps, but lost in the play-off final match at Twickenham.

Bath finished 4th at the end of the 2004–05 season. The club reached the Powergen Cup final after a dramatic extra-time try by Andy Williams in the semi-final against Gloucester, but lost to Leeds at Twickenham after a poor display. The pack continued to dominate but, with a backline once again decimated by injuries, many bemoaned the 10-man rugby displayed by Bath. Two players, Matt Stevens and Danny Grewcock, were selected for the Lions tour to New Zealand.

By the end of the 2004–05 season, Coach John Connolly had announced his intention to return to his native Australia, having created one of the most dominant packs in club rugby. The appointment of ex-England National Academy Manager Brian Ashton as the new head coach was announced in November 2005, and marked the return of the popular coach, who helped lead Bath to six league titles and six cup titles between 1989 and 1996. In May 2006, rumours of Ashton's return to the England coaching setup were rife. These rumours were confirmed on 25 May 2006, when Bath agreed to release Ashton from his contract for an undisclosed compensatory figure, to return to the RFU fold as attack coach for the England team.

Well known Bath players from the recent history of the club include Jeremy Guscott; Dan Lyle, one of the first Americans to play regularly in Britain; England captain Phil de Glanville; and Andy Robinson, an assistant coach of the Rugby World Cup – winning England side, who went on to be the England team's head coach and head coach of Scotland.

Throughout the 2004–05 and 2005–06 seasons, Bath Rugby played in the Heineken Cup – a European cup tournament. In 2006 they controversially defeated Leicester Tigers in the quarter finals at a sold out Walkers' Stadium in Leicester, being reduced to 13 men for the last ten minutes of the match for continual infringements at the scrummage. Bath then went on to lose the semi-finals against Biarritz. As they finished 9th in the league that year, Bath were ineligible for the 2006–07 HC competition, instead contesting the European Challenge Cup.

Bath were forced to find a new coaching team in the summer of 2006 after head coach Brian Ashton joined the England national team, forwards coach Michael Foley returned to Australia and skills coach Richard Graham joined Saracens. Backs coach, Steve Meehan, was appointed the new acting head coach.^[2] His appointment was later made permanent.

In 2008 Bath won their first silverware in 10 years, beating Worcester to win the European Challenge Cup. After defeat in the 2003 and 2007 finals, it was third time lucky for the English team who ground out an impressive win over Worcester Warriors at Kingsholm. Outgoing skipper Steve Borthwick led by example and was a tower of strength in the lineout on his way to becoming FedEx Man of the match. Borthwick, who went on to join Saracens the following season, was carried aloft by his jubilant teammates after a titanic tussle in appalling conditions. Worcester won the toss and opted to play with the wind at their backs in the first period. It mattered not as Bath dominated possession and territory in the first quarter, and deservedly took the lead on 15 minutes with an Olly Barkley penalty. Barkley went on to score a second penalty a drop goal and a conversion, but it was tries from Jonny Fa'amatuainu and Nick Abendanon that put the game beyond the reach of brave Worcester. Bath won 24–16.

On 14 April 2010, Bath Rugby announced a change of ownership and set out new plans for the future of the club,^[3] including a proposal to create a new club headquarters at Farleigh House^[4] and a commitment to build a new 20,000–25,000-seat stadium.

In 2011 the new owners brought in Gary Gold as head coach to replace the short-lived Ian McGeechan, who had briefly replaced Meehan. After a poor first season Gold was promoted to a director of rugby while defence coach Mike Ford became head coach. In December 2013 Gold left the club under unclear circumstances.

After a disappointing season seeing Bath finish 9th in the table, Mike Ford left the club at the end of the 2015–2016 season after an in depth review of the club was carried out,^[5] Neal Hatley joined Eddie Jones with the England team^[6] and Danny Grewcock left as Bath's Academy Director.^[7] On the 28 July 2016 Bath announced that Todd Blackadder would be taking over as director of rugby and Tabai Matson as head coach.^[8] This would see Blackadder reportedly signing a 3-year deal and Matson a 4-year deal.

Bath rugby's biggest ever defeat on home soil was against Saracens on 17 October 2021 conceding 71 points.

Budget[]

Year	Turnover	Profit/(Loss) before tax
2009–10	£8,832k	£(1,259)k
2010–11	£9,613k	£(1,820)k
2011–12	£10,291k	£(2,790)k
2012–13	£10,617k	£(3,777)k
2013–14	£11,772k	£(2,975)k
2014–15	£14,634k	£(1,106)k
2015–16	£16,869k	£(1,201)k
2016–17	£18,576k	£(2,567)k
2017–18	£19,806k	£(3,149)k

Supporters[]

The official supporters' club of Bath Rugby was formed in January 1997.

Stadium[]

Bath play at the Recreation Ground, also known as "The Rec". The stadium is in the centre of the city, next to the River Avon. For the 2009–10 season the ground capacity was expanded to 11,700, and Bath play all of their home matches there during the club season. During summer, the ground is adjusted to make it capable for holding cricket matches. This cricket field is used for local contests and by Somerset County Cricket Club for one match a year.^[9]

Development of the Rec[]

In November 2009 the new chief executive, Nick Blofeld, stated the club is now seeking a mostly seated stadium for 20,000 to suit modern professional rugby, with potential for future expansion, containing "restaurants and cafés, hospitality suites, conference facilities and good food and beverage outlets and other potential retail outlets".^[10]

The issue of the charitable status of the Rec has prevented progress, but in 2013 the Charity Commission recommended a scheme to allow the club's former training ground at Lambridge to be exchanged for an extended footprint on the Rec free from the charitable rules. While a few appeals remain to be heard, the club is pushing on with designs for an 18,500-seat stadium, and intends to apply for planning permission in 2014.^[11]

The First Tier Tribunal decided to limit the land available to the club which has meant that pending leave to appeal the club's development plans have had to be put on ice. As a result, the club has put in a planning application to extend its capacity to 14,000 on a temporary basis for next two seasons to cover their 150th anniversary celebrations in 2015.^[12]

After being successful with recent planning applications, the club has been able to increase capacity by 1,000 for the 2016/17 season onwards – taking the capacity to 14,500 spectators for home games. The works took place during the 2016 off-season and saw the West Stand partially demolished and improved facilities provided, including bars, food outlets and toilets. The new consents will last for four years and will enable Bath to focus solely on resolution of a permanent redevelopment solution for the Rec, without on-going debate around temporary stands during this period. Permanent development proposals are intended to be brought forward long before the expiry of the four-year period.^[13]

Au updated decision in December 2016 from the Charity First-Tier Tribunal relating to a revised Scheme for the governance of the Bath Recreation Ground, including the use of the Recreation Ground site, was said by the club to "re-open the door to redevelopment at the Rec".^[14]

There has been talk between the club and local football team Bath City, although the talks have never amounted to anything.

So every summer the "stadium" is dismantled as it is located in a park. Meaning that the club are unable to have a roof.

Twickenham Stadium[]

Since the 2016-17 season, Bath Rugby have played an annual home fixture at Twickenham Stadium. The fixture; dubbed The Clash is normally played around Easter and forms part of a five-year deal to host games at Twickenham. The 2017 match had an attendance of 61,868, and the 2018 match had 60,880 spectators.

Current kit[]

The kit is supplied by [Macron]. On the front of the shirt, Dyson is at the centre with Novia on the far top left and the far top right. Naim Audio appears on the left sleeve. On the back of the shirt, Thatchers is at the top with Avon Protection on top of the squad number and Grant UK at the bottom. On the back of the shorts, Dyson (who is also at the centre on the front of the shirt) is on the top while on the bottom, Gem is on the left and Kinetica is on the right.

Season summaries[]

	Premiership				Domestic Cup		European Cup
Season	Competition	Final Position	Points	Play-Offs	Competition	Performance	Competition	Performance
1987–88	Courage League Division 1	4th	30	N/A	John Player Cup	Quarter-final	No competition	N/A
1988–89	Courage League Division 1	1st	20	N/A	Pilkington Cup	Champions
1989–90	Courage League Division 1	3rd	16	N/A	Pilkington Cup	Champions
1990–91	Courage League Division 1	1st	22	N/A	Pilkington Cup	3rd round
1991–92	Courage League Division 1	1st	21	N/A	Pilkington Cup	Champions
1992–93	Courage League Division 1	1st	22	N/A	Pilkington Cup	3rd round
1993–94	Courage League Division 1	1st	31	N/A	Pilkington Cup	Champions
1994–95	Courage League Division 1	2nd	27	N/A	Pilkington Cup	Champions
1995–96	Courage League Division 1	1st	31	N/A	Pilkington Cup	Champions	No English teams	N/A
1996–97	Courage League Division 1	2nd	31	N/A	Pilkington Cup	5th round	Heineken Cup	Quarter-final
1997–98	Allied Dunbar Premiership	3rd	26	N/A	Tetley's Bitter Cup	5th round	Heineken Cup	Champions
					C&G Cup	Pool Stage
1998–99	Allied Dunbar Premiership	6th	30	N/A	Tetley's Bitter Cup	4th round	No English teams	N/A
					C&G Cup	Quarter-final
1999–00	Allied Dunbar Premiership	2nd	43	N/A	Tetley's Bitter Cup	4th round	Heineken Cup	2nd in pool
2000–01	Zurich Premiership	3rd	70	N/A	Tetley's Bitter Cup	4th round	Heineken Cup	2nd in pool
2001–02	Zurich Premiership	11th	33	N/A	Powergen Cup	6th round	Heineken Cup	Quarter-final
2002–03	Zurich Premiership	11th	36	-	Powergen Cup	Quarter-final	Challenge Cup	Runners–up
2003–04	Zurich Premiership	1st	79	Runners-up	Powergen Cup	Quarter-final	Challenge Cup	Semi-final
2004–05	Zurich Premiership	4th	58	-	Powergen Cup	Runners-up	Heineken Cup	2nd in pool
2005–06	Guinness Premiership	9th	46	-	Powergen Cup	Semi-final	Heineken Cup	Semi-final
2006–07	Guinness Premiership	8th	45	-	EDF Energy Cup	4th in pool	Challenge Cup	Runners-up
2007–08	Guinness Premiership	3rd	69	Semi-final	EDF Energy Cup	4th in pool	Challenge Cup	Champions
2008–09	Guinness Premiership	4th	65	Semi-final	EDF Energy Cup	3rd in pool	Heineken Cup	Quarter-final
2009–10	Guinness Premiership	4th	61	Semi-final	LV= Cup	3rd in pool	Heineken Cup	4th in pool
2010–11	Aviva Premiership	5th	62	-	LV= Cup	3rd in pool	Heineken Cup	3rd in pool
2011–12	Aviva Premiership	8th	44	-	LV= Cup	Semi-final	Heineken Cup	3rd in pool
2012–13	Aviva Premiership	7th	53	-	LV= Cup	Semi-final	Challenge Cup	Quarter-final
2013–14	Aviva Premiership	5th	67	-	LV= Cup	Semi-final	Challenge Cup	Runners-up
2014–15	Aviva Premiership	2nd	75	Runners-up	LV= Cup	4th in pool	Champions Cup	Quarter-final
2015–16	Aviva Premiership	9th	48	-	No competition	N/A	Champions Cup	3rd in pool
2016–17	Aviva Premiership	5th	59	-	Anglo-Welsh Cup	4th in pool	Challenge Cup	Semi-final
2017–18	Aviva Premiership	6th	56	-	Anglo-Welsh Cup	Runners-up	Champions Cup	3rd in pool
2018–19	Gallagher Premiership	6th	56	-	Premiership Cup	3rd in pool	Champions Cup	3rd in pool
2019-20	Gallagher Premiership	4th	67	Semi-final	Premiership Cup	3rd in pool	Champions Cup	4th in pool
2020-21	Gallagher Premiership	7th	52	-	No competition	N/A	Champions Cup	Pool stage
							Challenge Cup	Semi-final

Gold background denotes champions
Silver background denotes runners-up
Pink background denotes relegated

Club honours[]

Bath Rugby[]

• English Premiership
  • Champions: (6) 1988–89, 1990–91, 1991–92, 1992–93, 1993–94, 1995–96
  • Runners–Up: (2) 2003–04, 2014–15
• European Rugby Champions Cup
  • Champions: (1) 1997–98
• European Challenge Cup
  • Champions: (1) 2007–08
  • Runners–Up: (3) 2002–03, 2006–07, 2013–14
• Premiership Rugby Cup
  • Champions: (10) 1983–84, 1984–85, 1985–86, 1986–87, 1988–89, 1989–90, 1991–92, 1993–94, 1994–95, 1995–96
  • Runners–Up: (2) 2004–05, 2017–18
• Somerset Senior Cup (tiers 4–7)
  • Champions: (6) 1970–71, 1971–72, 1973–74, 1974–75, 1975–76, 1982–83

Bath United[]

• Premiership Rugby Shield
  • Champions: (1) 2013–14

Friendly[]

• Middlesex Sevens
  • Champions: (1) 1994

Current squad[]

The Bath Rugby squad for the 2021–22 season is:^[15][a][b]

Note: Flags indicate national union as has been defined under WR eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-WR nationality.

Player Position Union Hooker England Tom Dunn Hooker England Jacques du Toit Hooker South Africa Lewis Boyce Prop England Prop England Johannes Jonker Prop South Africa Beno Obano Prop England D'Arcy Rae Prop Scotland Juan Schoeman Prop South Africa Will Stuart Prop England Will Vaughan Prop England Kieran Verden Prop England Charlie Ewels (c) Lock England Josh McNally Lock England Will Spencer Lock England Josh Bayliss Back row Scotland Jaco Coetzee Back row South Africa Richard de Carpentier Back row England Tom Ellis Back row England Taulupe Faletau Back row Wales Miles Reid Back row England Sam Underhill Back row England Mike Williams Back row Zimbabwe

Player Position Union Oliver Fox Scrum-half England Max Green Scrum-half England Joe Simpson [a] Scrum-half England Ben Spencer Scrum-half England Danny Cipriani Fly-half England Tian Schoeman Fly-half South Africa Centre England Max Clark Centre England Jonathan Joseph Centre England Cameron Redpath Centre Scotland Centre South Africa Joe Cokanasiga Wing England Gabriel Hamer-Webb Wing England Ruaridh McConnochie Wing England Will Muir Wing England Tom Prydie [b] Wing Wales Semesa Rokoduguni Wing England Darren Atkins Fullback England Tom de Glanville Fullback England Anthony Watson Fullback England

Academy squad[]

The Bath academy squad is:^[18]

Note: Flags indicate national union as has been defined under WR eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-WR nationality.

Player Position Union Hooker England Hooker England Prop Wales Prop England Prop England Lock England Lock England Back row England Back row England Back row England Back row England Back row England

Player Position Union Scrum-half England Orlando Bailey Fly-half England Centre England Wing England Fullback England

Club staff[]

Role[19]	Name
Director of Rugby	Stuart Hooper
Head Coach / Forwards coach	Neal Hatley
Attack and Backs coach	David Williams
Defence Coach	Brent Janse van Rensburg
Line-Out coach	Luke Charteris
Scrum specialist	Mark Lilley
Skills Coach	Ryan Davis
Academy Manager

Notable former players[]

Rugby World Cup[]

The following are players which have represented their countries at the Rugby World Cup, whilst playing for Bath, players in bold won the tournament:

Tournament	Players selected	England players	Other national team players
1987	6	Gareth Chilcott, Graham Dawe, David Egerton, Jon Hall, Nigel Redman, Richard Hill
1991	4	Nigel Redman, Richard Hill, Jeremy Guscott, Jonathan Webb
1995	12	Ben Clarke, Graham Dawe, Jeremy Guscott, John Mallett, Jonathan Callard, Phil de Glanville, Mike Catt, Steve Ojomoh, Victor Ubogu	Simon Geoghegan , Dave Hilton, Eric Peters
1999	7	Victor Ubogu, Phil de Glanville, Jeremy Guscott, Mike Catt, Matt Perry	Kevin Maggs , Dan Lyle
2003	6	Iain Balshaw, Mike Tindall, Mike Catt, Danny Grewcock	Kevin Maggs , Simon Danielli
2007	6	Lee Mears, Matt Stevens, Steve Borthwick, Olly Barkley, Nick Abendanon	Eliota Fuimaono-Sapolu
2011	7	David Wilson, Lee Mears, Lewis Moody, Matt Banahan	Chris Biller , Anthony Perenise , Francois Louw
2015	12	Rob Webber, David Wilson, George Ford, Sam Burgess, Jonathan Joseph, Anthony Watson	Nikola Matawalu , Dominic Day, Rhys Priestland , Alafoti Faosiliva , Francois Louw , Horacio Agulla
2019	6	Sam Underhill, Jonathan Joseph, Joe Cokanasiga, Ruaridh McConnochie, Anthony Watson	Francois Louw

Past club captains[]

Only includes players appointed club captain for the season. Individual game captains are not included.

• 2019–21 Charlie Ewels
• 2017–19 Matt Garvey
• 2016–17 Guy Mercer
• 2011–16 Stuart Hooper
• 2010–11 Luke Watson
• 2009–10 Michael Claassens
• 2008–09 Michael Lipman and Alex Crockett
• 2005–08 Steve Borthwick
• 2003–05 Jonathan Humphreys
• 2002–03 Danny Grewcock
• 2001–02 Dan Lyle

References[]

External links[]

• Official Website
• Official Supporters Website
• Come On My Lovers
• Bath's All Time Premiership Stats@Statbunker
• Premiership Rugby Official Website