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BATH RUGBY V WASPS

By Bath Rugby

January 7^th, 2021

COACH'S CORNER: STUART HOOPER

Good evening,

The players and I feel very privileged to be able to have the freedom to play rugby still at a time when everyone is experiencing a third national lockdown.

There is something special about being able to play under the lights on a Friday evening at the Rec. It’s not the same for obvious reasons but we know that we will have the support of our city behind us. We want to make our supporters proud to be part of the Blue, Black and White.

We have not taken the Leicester result lightly from last week and we feel a huge amount of responsibility to put on a performance you can all enjoy at this challenging time.

As we face Wasps this evening, we know what ability they have and how they will approach the game. They are a quality side and produced a good performance to topple Exeter Chiefs last time out. We need to embrace the challenge, stick together and take the game to them, if we do that, we will have a great evening.

Hopefully we can look forward to having our supporters back at the Rec later in the year, but for now please stay at home and keep those closest to you safe.

Thanks,

Hoops

CAPTAIN’S COLUMN: CHARLIE EWELS

Good evening all,

We feel the hurt and understand the frustration of all that is going on in the world and in the UK right now. We feel a huge sense of pride to be able to play rugby still at a time where everyone is in another national lockdown.

We are missing the presence of our supporters at games, and as players, we understand our responsibility, now more than ever. We have worked extremely hard this week to be able to give our supporters something to cheer about.

There is now light at the end of the tunnel despite the recent announcement earlier this week. All I can picture is that first game back at the Rec with 14,500 supporters there, it’s going to be special.

Thanks,

Charlie

VIEW DYSON V11 ABSOLUTE

BAILEY, MERIGAN, RICHARDS AND STADDON CALLED INTO ENGLAND U20 ELITE PLAYER SQUAD

England U20 men's head coach Alan Dickens has named his 32-man Elite Player Squad (EPS) for 2021.

Bath Rugby's Orlando Bailey, Nahum Merigan, Ewan Richards and Ethan Staddon have all been included in Dickens' elite squad.

The player pathway programme is a vital development tool for future international rugby. Of the 31 players selected in England’s 2019 Rugby World Cup squad, 81% played for England U20s, 77% for England U18s, while 87% came through a club academy.

Dickens has been joined in the England U20s coaching set up by Andy Titterrell as forwards coach, following previous experience with Wasps where he became part of the coaching team in 2014 after his playing retirement. Titterrell was also forwards coach for England Saxons on their successful tour of South Africa in 2016.

Titterrell’s playing career reached its peak with a call-up for the 2005 British & Irish Lions. In addition to being part of Sale’s 2006 Premiership title win, the former hooker’s club career took in stints with Gloucester, Leeds Carnegie and Edinburgh, while he was capped five times by England.

On the call up of Bath Rugby’s quartet, Academy Manager Craig Lilley, said: “It’s a powerful message for us and for our regional player pathway and this should serve as inspiration for all the young players just getting started with us in the U15s and U16s.

"The announcement of Nahum, Orlando, Ethan and Ewan being selected in the U20s EPS this season is great news for them, and for everyone here at the Club. We’ve seen these young men develop, and they’ve all made considerable strides in the past six months, despite the setbacks of COVID.

"All of these young men have developed within the Academy programme with us at Bath Rugby over the past five to six years, as well as within their clubs and schools. They have also played for Dorset and Wiltshire or Somerset, for their respective County teams during their U15 and U16 seasons. All five of them have worked incredibly hard over a number of years to get to this point and have all earned this opportunity through their performances here with Bath Rugby.

"The opportunity to go away and to develop in a different environment at this level is going to be invaluable for each and every one of them. This selection sets the scene for them to really go after a positive second half of the season and to continue to build themselves as young professionals.

"We are really excited about continuing to support them in their development and to hopefully see them compete later on in the season. We see great opportunity for them to build their careers with us here at Bath into the future and we will welcome them back to the club, we have no doubt, as better players following their time with England."

BATH RUGBY AND COMPEED ANNOUNCE NEW PARTNERSHIP

Bath Rugby have announced a new multi-year partnership with Compeed, the award-winning blister plaster experts. The agreement follows a successful short-term strategic campaign that was trialled during the culmination of the 2019/20 season.

The Compeed brand logo will feature on the right sleeve of all three of Bath Rugby’s playing jerseys, with Compeed also receiving significant digital exposure across the Club’s owned platforms. As part of the agreement, Compeed will headline the launch of two inclusive community programmes designed to improve levels of exercise and mobility amongst adults. These two programmes will launch in the New Year and be delivered by Bath Rugby’s community coaches across the region.

Renowned for their quality of products, Compeed uses hydrocolloid technology to provide fast, discreet and proven treatments for blisters, cold sores, bunions, corns and cracked heels to keep you performing at your best. Compeed has a long history of supporting athletes with its range of sport-specific blister products and will also provide support to the Club’s medical department and players.

Mark Morrell, Bath Rugby’s Head of Partnerships, commented: ‘‘We are delighted to continue our relationship with Compeed and officially welcome them as a long-term Club Partner.

"We are always looking to create new ways to deliver value and it is exciting to add another highly respected international brand to our family of commercial partners. We have been impressed by Compeed’s ambition for the coming seasons and look forward to working closely with them to deliver a long-standing and fruitful partnership.’’

VIEW THATCHERS CLOUDY LEMON

TOM ELLIS: BECOMING A FATHER

Backrow forward Tom Ellis, and his partner Grace, are expecting their first child together in the early stages of 2021 and the 26-year-old has revealed how he managed to keep himself busy away from the pitch in preparation of their new-born.

Ellis will become a father for the first time this year and he explained his feelings ahead of this life-changing and wonderful event.

He said: “I am nervous and excited. I guess it’s quite a weird feeling, I’m not too sure how to feel about it until it all happens. I feel a strong sense of responsibility already and that is quite a scary thought when the baby isn’t here yet.”

With a global pandemic and two national lockdowns bringing change to the life as we knew it, Ellis admitted that he’s been keeping himself busy during the extra time off, alongside training commitments, and revealed how Grace told him the news.

He continued: “Grace and I have done a lot in the last eight months. We’ve moved to a new house, but we have had to temporarily move in with my parents and then with Sam Underhill and his partner for a while whilst we renovated.

“In some ways, it has flown by because we’ve had so much going on, but we’ve managed to squeeze a lot in that time. I am still a little bit daunted; the penny hasn’t completely dropped with me yet, I don’t think, just that this little baby is going to be here for life.

“Grace had her suspicions, but I remember coming downstairs one morning and she was watching an episode of something on the TV, she waited for that episode to finish. She then stopped watching the TV and turned to me, she had done a test prior to this and said, ‘oh by the way I’m pregnant’.

“My reaction blew up, I had wondered why she’d waited for the episode to finish before telling me, but she just wanted to finish it before she shared the good news because she was enjoying it. I’ve always wanted to have kids, so I am really excited.”

Ellis and his partner have decided to keep the gender of their child a surprise and will find out on the day of birth. The flanker also revealed the differing reactions they received from his parents and to-be parents in law when they broke the news.

On finding out the gender, Ellis said: “We’ve not found out the gender. We have left it as a surprise, which is quite nice really. We are excited to find out, but it has meant that everything is grey and white and very neutral in the room we’ve decorated. It’s just really exciting not knowing what we are going to have. We both think it’s going to be a girl, but I don’t think either of us really mind.”

“We waited to let our families know until 13 weeks in. We first went down to Graces’ parents and wrapped them a baby grow and gave that to them to open. They have literally just got a new kitten, and their reaction was ‘how is the cat getting in this?’, then the penny dropped, and they were elated with our news. With my parents we wrapped up something baby-related again, and my mum was very excited.”

“We’ve got a few name ideas already but we haven’t spoken too much about it, just purely because we don’t know. It may be nameless for a few days when it arrives but we’re getting closer and we have a shorter list than we had previously. We have done a little bit of googling for name ideas, it’s quite hard as you can already scrub out names of people you know that share the same names.”

Ellis is a longstanding player within the current senior squad and holds off-field relationships with a number of the playing squad. He revealed how they reacted to the news, knowing the backrow through and through.

The 26-year-old continued: “We told a few people in the squad early, who Grace and I hang around with more outside of Bath Rugby. We told Charlie Ewels and his partner quite early, and Charlie was caught off guard when I told him, which was funny. The squad have been really supportive of us, and with lockdowns in 2020, they have been really eventful. We’ve done the house, got engaged and now we’re having a child together. There has been a lot going on.”

“I’m quite close with Tom Dunn, so I’ve spoken to him for some parental advice already. I am his daughter’s god father, so I think I have a vague idea of what it’s going to be like. Anthony has just become a dad too, so I’ve spoken to him a lot. We are just really excited so we will find our way through it.”

“There is quite a lot of stuff on the go I suppose, you will learn what it likes and doesn’t like as it grows. There are a lot of guidelines but also a lot of ‘you’ll have to work it out as you go’ too so that’s the way we will take it – we’ll learn on the go as it will be with most parents.”

Having read countless books, magazines and google articles on the do’s and don’ts of becoming a parent, Ellis revealed what he might struggle with most and admits being an Uncle has given him some insight into what he can expect.

He said: “One thing that I will likely dread about becoming a father is the sleepless nights. I don’t think I will struggle too much before days off and that kind of stuff but nights before games are where I think I may struggle. I will need to have my sleep on those nights so it will fall to Grace to pick up. We have pre-planned to share responsibilities but again we will have to see how we go; we might be blessed with a sleepy baby.”

“I am an uncle and they are seven and ten. I do babysit them, but I didn’t when they were babies. I am the cool uncle that plays with them and gives them sugar and then hands them back when they are bouncing off the walls.”

“I was always brought up to work as hard as I can, so I hope to pass that down to the little one. Also, just an appreciation of what we have and how lucky we are to have what we have.”

Having already thought about what babygrows to buy his child, Ellis admitted he’ll be buying a West Ham United one, his beloved football team, as well as a Bath Rugby one, of course. The 26-year-old explained how he got into supporting the Hammers and how he gets the banter flowing in the squad from following the side.

Ellis continued: “I have a very dubious link to being a West Ham fan as it is. I would be happy if they were, but I can see Grace’s dad trying to make them a Bristol Rovers fan. I will try and get a West Ham baby grow for the next game! We will have to see if there is a Bath Rugby one going at the time in the Club shop too, of course.

“My family is very rugby orientated but I became a football fan when I was 12. Just genuinely wanted to get involved and I had a friend at school who offered me to become a West Ham fan, and there weren’t many of us, so I decided to start supporting them. I brought a shirt online from the last year they were in the Championship where they won the play-off final and then since that I have been to a game or two every year with him as he’s now a season ticket holder.

“So, from 12 I’ve shown a keen interest in them and since the Fantasy Premier League has become quite a big part of my life at the moment. I always have a slight West Ham bias in that, my team name is actually West Ham Sandwich. I have a bit of banter between myself and Henry Thomas because he’s a Tottenham fan and they thought they had us at 3-0 after 85 minutes but somehow we managed to salvage a draw from it this season.”

REVISIT THE MATCH REPORT FROM AUGUST 2020

WELCOME WASPS

Wasps started the 2020/21 campaign by facing familiar opponents in Bristol Bears, the side they had overwhelmed in last season’s semi-final.

Wasps got off to a winning start with a nail-biting victory, as they snatched victory from the jaws of defeat when Tom Willis finished off a thrilling counter attack for the winning score.

Lee Blackett’s men had led 6-3 at halftime, with Jimmy Gopperth landing two penalties after Sam Bedlow had given the visitors an early lead.

Gopperth added a third penalty, before Harry Randall’s converted try put the visitors ahead.

A Bedlow penalty made it 13-9, before Man of the Match Jack Willis went over from close range and Gopperth converted, to make it 16-13, ten minutes from time. When skipper Siale Piutau put Bristol back in front, Pat Lam’s side looked on course for the spoils, only to be denied by Tom Willis’s late winner.

Two defeats followed for the men in Black and Gold as they suffered a 40-24 defeat at Kingsholm, before becoming the third side after Bath and Sale Sharks to lose to newly-promoted Newcastle Falcons.

Wasps then started their European campaign recording two wins over Welsh Pro 14 outfit Dragons, before beating French powerhouses Montpellier 33-14 at the Ricoh Arena.

Lee Blackett’s side then beat play-off rivals Sale Sharks in a nail-bitter at the AJ Bell Stadium, coming away with a 26-23 victory.

This all came before a convincing display at the Ricoh Arena last weekend, as Wasps beat last season’s double Champions of the Gallagher Premiership and the Heineken Champions Cup, Exeter Chiefs with a 34-5 win.

HEAD COACH – LEE BLACKETT

Lee Blackett joined Wasps as Backs Coach ahead of the 2015-16 season from Championship club Rotherham Titans where he had been the youngest Head Coach in English rugby’s top two flights for the previous two seasons.

During this time he guided the Clifton Lane club to successive appearances in the play-off semi-finals - two remarkable against-the-odds achievements.

Blackett’s playing career was also spent in Yorkshire where he captained Rotherham prior to joining Leeds Carnegie, for whom he appeared on either the wing or at centre.

And it was during his time at Headingley that Blackett scored the Premiership’s quickest ever try – 8.28 seconds after the start of his club’s home game with Newcastle Falcons in 2008. Blackett's early playing days were spent at National League side Fylde.

In the summer of 2019 Blackett's role at Wasps changed to Attack & Backs Coach.

Following the departure of Director of Rugby Dai Young, Blackett was promoted to Head Coach in February 2020.

In February, Wasps were sitting 10th in the table, but with Blackett leading the side to a historic run of 13 wins in 14 matches, the Black and Golds reached the Premiership final in one of the competition's most remarkable turnarounds.

ONES TO WATCH...

PAOLO ODOGWU

Wasps welcomed Paolo Odogwu back to his hometown of Coventry, as the rapid winger joined the Club ahead of the 2019/20 season.

Odogwu, who made the move from Sale Sharks, made his first outing in a Wasps jersey at the 2019 Premiership 7s where he helped his side reach the final for the sixth successive time, contributing six tries and in the process becoming the competition's top try-scorer of all time.

Odogwu started the 2020/21 campaign on fire scoring three tries in three games, including a quickfire double in the dying moments against Gloucester.

During his first season in Manchester, he impressed across both the Premiership and Heineken Champions Cup, and went on to score seven tries in 29 first-team appearances for the Sharks.

He previously spent time with Leicester Tigers while also having represented England Under 20s.

JIMMY GOPPERTH

The New Zealand-born back has been one of Wasps’ most reliable performers since arriving at Ricoh Arena in 2015.

As befits one of the world’s leading goal-kickers, Gopperth has amassed close on 800 points during his time in the Black and Gold.

This time at Wasps has allowed the experienced former Auckland Blue, Hurricane and junior All Black to demonstrate play-making, defensive and running skills while wearing the inside centre and full-back shirts as well as his usual fly-half jersey.

Gopperth enjoyed spells with Newcastle Falcons and Leinster Rugby prior to signing for Wasps, and as a consequence is in a very elite club of players who have experienced Super Rugby, the Pro 14 and the English Premiership.

After writing his name into Wasps folklore with a European Cup quarter-final-winning touchline conversion against Exeter Chiefs in 2016, Gopperth’s phenomenal 2016/17 campaign saw him named as Premiership, RPA and Wasps Player of the Season. In addition he lifted the Golden Boot for a third time having previously twice finished as the Premiership’s top marksman during his time with the Falcons.

Successive injuries kept the experienced back limited to just one appearance during 2018/19 but the fly-half has made a significant contribution during the following two seasons with Wasps making the 2019-20 Premiership final.

JACK WILLIS

After learning his rugby at Reading Abbey RFC, Jack Willis joined the Wasps Senior Academy from Henley College Berkshire ahead of the 2015/16 season having previously captained Wasps Under 18s.

Willis immediately displayed ability in all three back-row positions and soon caught the eye of Midlands rugby fans during a loan spell with Coventry Rugby.

His first senior start duly followed against Sale Sharks in the Anglo-Welsh Cup in November 2016 after which the former England Under 20 made his Premiership debut a few weeks later against the same opponents.

By the end of a campaign which saw him voted as his Club’s Academy Player of the Season, Willis had made eight senior appearances and he was duly awarded a senior contract for the following season.

During a superb 2017/18 season, Willis first secured a regular starting spot, then won the February Premiership Player of the Month trophy followed by his Club’s Young Player of the Season award and was selected for England’s summer tour to South Africa.

Injury kept the flanker sidelined for most of the 2018/19 season.

Upon his return Willis had a breakout 2019/20 season picking up the Gallagher Premiership Player of the Season and RPA Vodafone Business Players' Player of the Year awards, along with Wasps Supporters' and Players’ Player of the Season awards.

Jack enjoyed a fine campaign in the Black and Gold, having made 26 appearances this season and finishing as Wasps' top try scorer in all competitions with 13. Willis’ fine form also saw him return to the England squad where he made his long-awaited debut against Georgia and scored a try.

NATHAN CATT RE-JOINS BATH RUGBY’S ACADEMY IN COACHING ROLE

Club Stalwart Nathan Catt will continue his journey with the Blue, Black and White as he takes on the role of Academy Pathway Coach in the Bath Rugby Academy, with a focus on aiding development and providing our young men with high-quality experiences and relationships.

Having been a huge part of the Club for a very long time now, Catt joined the pathway as a youngster playing with Academy Manager Craig Lilley and coaches Mark Lilley, Ryan Davis and Louis Messer. The seasoned forward now joins them in a coaching capacity and will continue to nurture an already rich relationship.

Academy Manager Lilley commented on the appointment of the Blue, Black and White prop, who made 170 appearances over 12 years at the Club, he said: ”To have a group of people that have a been on a journey together as players and transitioned as staff at the Club is really special.

“We all have a deep emotional attachment to Bath Rugby and a passion to maximise player development by providing our young men with high-quality experiences and relationships.

“As a Club, we are committed to providing opportunity and resource to support coaches within our region to develop and to fulfil their potential as coaches, and Nathan is another example of that. We will provide Nathan with appropriate challenge and support in his new exciting journey to ensure he maximises his potential.

“Catty is genuinely a Bath man through and through and anyone that has played with him or worked with him knows that he never gives anything less than 100%. His ability to transition as a player to a coach has been impressive. Not only does he bring an enormous amount of detail at set piece and defence, he knows how to get the best out of people.”

Catt will be deployed as an U18 coach. The U18 group operates as a joint group for U17 and U18 players. The programme begins with pre-season in the months of June and August through to the end of the competitive season for the U18 Premiership Academies in March. This competition offers the opportunity to play for the Club and to be tested against the best players at this age grade from across the country.

Most of his time will be spent at Beechen Cliff School, this is where Bath Rugby run their ACE programme. The programme is challenging both on and off-field and exposes high potential players to the demands and expectations of the senior game.

Outside of Beechen, Catt will work as part of an interdisciplinary team to help coordinate the development of players within schools and clubs within our region alongside the provision of outstanding levels of support to those individuals who demonstrate attributes that indicate long-term potential.

The development opportunities that Bath Academy will provide will give players from across our region, through our partnerships and relationships the Club are growing within our schools and clubs, will underpin its long-term success.

Catt commented on the opportunities that lay ahead and how excited he is to get going in his new role with the Club, he said: “It’s a hugely exciting opportunity. I am able to give back some of my knowledge of the game to these young men coming through the ranks at the Club.

“I am hugely excited to be able to continue my development with Bath Rugby and I couldn’t think of a more fitting way than to be able to coach our young players and help aid and develop their games.

“I took a very similar journey in respects to coming through the Player Pathway at the Club, so being able to give back is really humbling and one that I am really looking forward to by helping nurture these talented individuals through our systems. I can’t wait to get going.”

During Catt’s rehabilitation period as a player, the seasoned forward had been undertaking a coaching role within the Club’s partnership programme at the University of Bath. Having developed himself as a coach from this experience, Lilley is confident that his experiences will only aid the players in our Academy and partnership programmes.

Lilley added: “Off the field, Catty has been fantastic at breaking the game down for players and simplifying tasks to bring clarity, accountability and intensity. He sets high standards as a coach and players buy-in and react positively to the expectations that are set.

“He provides individualised coaching and mentoring to identified players within the Bath Rugby Player Pathway to support optimal development, in line with established principles and philosophies of the Club.

“Nathan is working hard to support identified players by implementing individual development plans and timely feedback, helping to guide the process and develop self-aware, highly motivated young professionals.

“The development of home-grown players, individuals who will proudly pull on the Blue, Black and White, who are connected to not only the Club, but to the City and to each other is at the core of everything we do. I have no doubt Nathan will bring huge value to this based on his experiences as a player and now in his new role as a coach.”

24-HOUR WORLD RECORD SKI-ERG CHALLENGE

A team of Bath residents took on the brutal endurance challenge to break a World Record – and raise money for a good cause.

The 10-strong Big Bear Ski Club set a new 24-hour Ski-Erg World Record on Sunday, 6th December 2020.

Their total distance came to a massive 436,928 metres, beating the current holders distance of 392,598 metres.

Even more incredible was the fact that all challenge participants were normal gym-goers, with not a single elite athlete in sight. Their strength and determination, even in the small hours of Sunday morning, was truly remarkable.

Supporters sponsored the team in their droves, with all donations made going directly to support the work of Bath Rugby Foundation.

The challenge was arranged by Dave Bowler from Get Fit in Bath. He said: “The challenge was a huge one, as mentally tough as it was physically painful!”

Whilst the challenge lasted 24-hours, the key to success may have been in the little things. Dave said: “If every changeover between team members lost two seconds, that would have added up to a huge amount of time – it would even have been as much time as an hour.”

We see the Foundation’s team helping to change the lives of young people who’ve been given a tough start to life, through no fault of their own.

“Whilst we felt incredibly uncomfortable for a few hours, it was vital for us to raise important funds for this work, it was all very well worth it.”

The team’s ages ranged from 18 to 51 years old. For the past four months, they all trained fully with weights and the Concept2 Ski-Erg machine, sometimes up to five times a week, to be able to cope with the physical and mental exhaustion that this challenge presented them.

The challenge took place from 9am on December 5th, at Get Fit in Bath and ran through until 9am Sunday December 6th.

The teams worked in shift patterns which saw each team of five completing a half-hour shift, before handing over to the second team to continue the pacing that was needed to beat this record.

The team absolutely loved all of the extra support received on the day through social media messages, phone calls and video calls, it helped to keep them motivated (especially in the early hours of December 6th!) and all donations, no matter how big or small they were, were gratefully received. All money raised will go towards changing the lives of underprivileged youngsters in Bath, it also helped to spur this team on to smash the World Record.

DONATE

Ceri Millward – 18
Josie Greenston - 19
James Paddock - 25
David Bowler - 31
Liam Moloney - 32
Laura Androsoni - 35
Alex Stocks - 25
Edward McKenzie - 40
Richard Griffith - 49
Ian Millward - 51

IT’S LIFE, JIM, BUT NOT AS WE KNOW IT…

Before the avid “Trekkies” out there set their phasers to stun and point them in my direction, I know that nobody actually said this in the original TV series but like a number of other wrongly attributed quotes, it doesn’t half-ring true, particularly just at the moment!

For many of us, rugby and our regular trips to the Rec are an important part of our lives which, like so many other things, have had to be put on hold for the time being. Christmas was a totally different experience this year and I for one stayed up until midnight on New Year’s Eve not so much to welcome in 2021 but more to make sure that 2020 had actually gone!

I’m not going to indulge in the old cliches about rugby being a metaphor for life, especially when so many people are going through incredibly difficult times, but we BB&W supporters tend to be a pretty resilient bunch and coming together albeit virtually to support the boys still lifts the spirits! Very best wishes from all of us at BRSC for a brighter 2021, both on and off the pitch!

There are a couple of fixtures each year which stand out in the calendar. Neither Tigers nor us have been quite where we’d want to be in recent seasons but there’s something of an “Old Firm” feel about these games. The one last Sunday was no different. A typically physical and full-blooded encounter with the first ten minutes of the second half proving pivotal in swinging the game Tigers way, despite a late score from Cameron Redpath. Disappointing, but it’s early in the season with a lot to play for yet and we took our try opportunities well!

We held a couple of special events in the lead up to Christmas. On Monday 14th December the Bath Rugby Foundation put together a special evening for BRSC Members to give us the latest news on the Sponsor Our Students programme and to thank BRSC Members for our support. The evening was hosted by David Trick and he and Foundation CEO Lynne Fernquest emphasised how much the support from BRSC means to them.

Any evening hosted by Tricky is going to be entertaining and we were also treated to “guest appearances” from Stu Hooper and Charlie Ewels. The real stars of the evening were two of the HITZ programme students, Jaz and Adam, whose contributions were both moving and inspiring. A timely reminder that there are a lot of young people out there who need a helping hand, especially now, and that our support helps to make a real difference. If you were’nt able to join us on the night, you can still watch the recording via the link on our Facebook page and on allez-bath.

Like so many things these days, we had to resort to “zoom” for this year’s quiz which took place on 21st December. Our regular Quizmaster Dave Stock couldn’t join us this year but he set the questions and Chrissy Webb did a brilliant job in the “hot seat”. As always the quiz posed some testing questions over eight different rounds. It was all for fun but there were some high scores reported with several in the high fifties and the best being fifty-nine out of a possible eighty. Many thanks to everyone who took part. Here’s hoping we can do it for real next year.

Our Try of the Month competition is up and running. Every vote counts so cast yours by 15th January.

The challenges keep on coming! Wasps had an exceptional afternoon against the Chiefs last time out. Let’s hope for a big bounce back from the boys and a big performance under the lights tonight!