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BATH RUGBY V NEWCASTLE FALCONS

By Bath Rugby

November 20^th, 2020

COACH'S CORNER: STUART HOOPER

Good afternoon and welcome to Round 1 of the 20/21 season as we face Newcastle Falcons.

Falcons are a team steeped in Premiership history and I feel very pleased to see them return to the topflight. Their form in the Championship until March this year, when their season was cancelled due to Coronavirus, was outstanding. Their last match against Bedford Blues saw them secure their 15th consecutive win and we make no mistake in knowing they will arrive at the Rec this weekend vying for victory.

I cannot write this welcome without noting that we are honoured to be back in the centre of our city, playing the game we love this weekend. The 80 minutes on matchday is when we show what we do and how we do it. The discipline and the rigour that we put into the other 10,000 minutes allows our squad the freedom to go out and play and allows them to be the Bath that everyone wants to see.

Our game models are our lens for our understanding of how we want to play the game and how we want our game to develop. A game with a dominant forward pack, an uncompromising set-piece, aggressive defence and quality attackers with the ball in hand.

We continue to build a system based on who we are, how we play, how we train, and how we develop. These four pillars are underpinned by a clear focus on our standards and developing a deep level of trust within the Club and with our people.

We are very lucky to work with two of the very best Sports Psychologists in the country and we continue to strengthen the mental skills of our coaches and players via the support of Katie Warriner and Joe Dixon.

As you will know, this season is very different from last, and it continues to change and evolve. The key this year is to remain incredibly well planned but also agile enough to be able to react quickly when required.

This current block sees us face three Premiership games before going into a two-week European campaign in December before three more league matches and again two Champions Cup matches heading into the New Year.

The unseen work that our Performance Department do delivering a programme that produces better conditioned and more highly-skilled players, aligned to the way we play the game means that we head into 20/21 with a squad who are prepared and ready to perform and compete at their best when their game time comes.

We head into the Newcastle game this weekend with a fit squad however we are missing the nine players away on international duty. However, this is seen as an opportunity to build further depth.

Finally, I would like to finish by sharing that we wish all of our supporters a very warm welcome back to our game. We miss your voice surrounding the ground and look forward to the day you can return. This weekend, we will arrive at the Rec with determination, focus and a commitment to challenge every one of us to be at our very best this weekend.

Our new chapter starts now,

Hoops

CAPTAIN'S COLUMN: JOSH MCNALLY

Good afternoon,

It’s great to be back at the Rec this afternoon - even more so after our short break between seasons. It’s a real privilege to captain Bath again, as Charlie Ewels has been away recently on international duty. We have a great leadership group here at the Club, which enables us to continue to strive forward and achieve our collective goals.

The 2019/20 season didn’t quite end in the way we would have hoped, however after reflection as a group during the off-season, we are raring to go with a fresh energy as the 2020/21 campaign gets underway today.

Collectively we are carrying a lot of optimism ahead of the new season and have been working incredibly hard to pick up where we let off in terms of our performances post-rugby restart. The players are in good physical and mental condition and are ready to go.

I’d like to welcome Newcastle Falcons back into the Premiership. Congratulations on winning the Championship title last season before the pandemic hit. I’ve had experience of being relegated and subsequently promoted back into the Premiership before, and I am fully aware of how Falcons will be feeling. I know that they will be coming to the Rec today to show us all why they belong in the topflight.

We haven’t set goals and targets as such this season, it’s a cliché but we are taking it week by week as things can change quickly in the current climate. This approach worked well for us post-restart at the end of the 2019/20 season, so it’s about continuing to do our jobs well and continuing to perform week by week.

We hope you enjoy the match.

Thanks,

Josh

VIEW THE DYSON CORRALE

CLUB UPDATE: TARQUIN MCDONALD

Welcome to the start of the 2020/21 season as we host Newcastle Falcons at the Rec in their first game since promotion back into the Premiership.

We’re all incredibly excited to be starting the new season, and for the opportunity to compete both in the Premiership and this season’s new format Heineken Champions Cup. With such a short break since the end of last season our focus has been to ensure that all of our players and staff had the opportunity to refresh, and that we build on the outstanding form we showed in restart which took us to the Premiership semi-final.

This is the first season to start in November, sadly it’s also the first season to start behind closed doors. We will miss you and your passionate support at the Rec. Live sport is simply not the same without supporters and fans. Coming together with friends and family, the energy and noise, the connection with the team, uniting with 14,500 other supporters is such a powerful and unique experience which sits at the heart of rugby and at the heart of sport.

It’s imperative that we find a way to bring supporters back together as soon as reasonably possible during this season. We are ready and raring to go with a test pilot event for 1,000 supporters, for a socially distanced crowd, and ultimately for a full return of supporters – in each instance applying strict protocols with everyone’s safety and well-being our top priority.

The return of supporters is also fundamental to the viability and sustainability of the game, accounting for approximately half to two-thirds of income for clubs. We welcome this week’s news of the government’s £300 million financial aid package for sport, which includes £135 million set aside for rugby union (£59 million for Premiership clubs, most likely in the form of loans). We await specific details of what this means for each club, but we expect that the impact of covid on the clubs will continue to be significant and deep.

The viability of Premiership clubs is critical not just for the league, but also for the communities and regions across which we each deliver rugby participation and education programmes. Each year Bath Rugby engages with over 9,000 children and young adults across our region of Dorset, Somerset and Wiltshire through our Community and Bath Rugby Foundation teams, delivering outstanding programmes, a third of which are provided to those in greatest need. This critical delivery is similarly replicated across the Premiership clubs.

Our concerns also extend to the 102 grassroots rugby clubs within our region who rely on income derived from the subscription fees of their playing members and from hosting events in their clubhouses. As I write this, these clubs have no understanding as to when they will be able to play again, nor when they will be able to generate income. In addition, there is a real risk that a continued absence of matches will result in players drifting away from the game.

I contacted MPs across our region during November, not only asking for their support in the journey to bring us back together, but also asking for them to lobby for support of rugby at every level of the game.

This week’s news that the government has allocated £23 million of its aid package for clubs below the Championship is encouraging, and hopefully this will go some way towards safeguarding the future of grassroots clubs during the difficult months ahead.

I am immensely proud of everyone at the Club and how we acted through the uncertainty and challenges of the first lockdown. Our message was simple - we will emerge stronger as a Club. This time undoubtedly brought us all closer together, and we saw this reflected in the manner of the performances since restart.

We also saw developments off the pitch as we developed new digital platforms and enhanced our content, for example our new digital programme which is reaching five times as many supporters as the old paper programmes at the Rec.

Given the uncertainty regarding the return of crowds, and knowing that many games would be played behind closed doors or with socially distanced crowds, it would not have been right to launch a traditional season ticket knowing it could not be fulfilled. We have therefore worked hard to provide a new membership product for this season which we hope you will join.

The membership product is an important way of supporting the Club whilst finding a flexible away to bring you back to the Rec during the season once socially distanced crowds are permitted.

Many of you will have a credit on your account following the cancellation of crowds last season. It is of course your choice how you use your credit, however, if you are able to please leave the credit on your account and not redeem it at this time it would be hugely appreciated by everyone at the Club as we manage this period without crowds and, despite this week’s announcement regarding the government support package, very little income flowing into the Club.

Thank you from everyone at the Club, thank you for your passionate support. We cannot wait to welcome you back to the Rec. Until then, please stay safe and enjoy today’s game.

MEMBERSHIPS

Bringing you closer than ever before. The new Club & Club+ adult Memberships are aimed at offering our loyal supporters access to tickets for any games that are played in front of supporters as well as bringing great value whilst we continue to operate behind closed doors.

We’ve worked hard to create a brand-new set of products, which we believe allows us to continue to connect and share this new season together, even while we remain apart, and critically supports the survival of our Club.

Thank you, as ever, for your continued support. We look forward to standing together with you this season.

FIND OUT MORE HERE

NEXTGEN

This week Bath Rugby announced the launch of NextGen, our brand-new junior membership for fans aged between 4 and 16.

We have created two categories of NextGen, with Maximus’ Cubs designed for all children studying within Primary Schools and Line Breakers tailored to those who are studying within Secondary Schools within this Academic Year.

Whether you are a player looking for skills videos or a fan looking for entertaining competitions and challenges, NextGen membership has you covered for the 2020-21 season.

FIND OUT MORE HERE

BATH RUGBY SECURE ALEX GRAY SIGNING

Bath Rugby welcome former Atlanta Falcons’ Tight-End Alex Gray to the side, who has spent the last three years within the practice squad of the Georgian- State based NFL side, before deciding to return to Rugby Union.

The athletic 29-year-old joins up with the Blue, Black and White ahead of the 2020/21 season having already developed relationships with existing players and staff at the Club.

MP UPDATE

Bath Rugby Chief Executive, Tarquin McDonald, has recently written to MPs within our region to call for further help to support sport. Today we ask you to do the same.

The letter detailed that the ongoing restrictions on team sports are having a significant and detrimental impact on communities up and down the country and that although “elite sport” is being allowed to continue behind closed doors, we continue to suffer a considerable monthly deficit – not least because of the loss of matchday revenue.

In his letter he shared that we are extremely grateful to the Government for indicating that financial support will be provided, and – like many other clubs – our priority now is to be able to re-open our gates once again to supporters.

READ THE FULL STATEMENT HERE

INTERNATIONAL ACCOLADES

Despite Tom Dunn making his International debut three weeks ago today against Italy in the decisive Six Nations decider, this is the first time we have been able to commemorate the occasion properly in our digital matchday programme.

A huge congratulations to Tom, from everyone back at the Club. We are sure the occasion seems like a long time ago now as Tom and the rest of the Bath Rugby lads prepare to face Ireland this afternoon, but we all very proud of your achievements.

#1417

EWELS RETAINS CLUB CAPTAINCY FOR 2020/21

Reinstated and resurgent, appointed Club Captain for the second successive season, Charlie Ewels has had little time to rest-up over the off-season with the lock on England duty, playing his part in winning the most anomalous Six Nations title to date.

Now the 25-year-old is delving into the Autumn Nations Cup before returning to Club duty as Bath Rugby look to implore their rich rein of form post-restart into the new Gallagher Premiership season.

On being named Club Captain ahead of the 2020/21 season, Ewels stated: “It’s a huge privilege to lead this side again. It is a role that I really enjoyed last season and whilst it had its challenges at times, taking this side through a situation that sport has never seen before with COVID-19, it has been a great learning curve.

“The thing that I loved most about the role was the way that the squad united together and pushed on to achieve reaching the play-offs. I am looking forward to having a slightly more normal looking season this time round, but we are obviously used to what is happening with COVID-19 now so as restrictions ease, hopefully into the New Year, we can get back to what was normal before.

“It is a huge honour, but I am also really looking forward to cracking on with the lads and achieving something special with this group.”

As the nation currently finds itself in another national lockdown, Ewels has found optimism in being able to continue playing rugby throughout one of the toughest periods of time in recent history. The lock has come to terms with the saddening reality of playing behind closed doors.

He continued: “It’s quite sad to say but we are used to playing without a crowd now. We’ve played ten of the 11 games to finish off the 2019/20 campaign without a crowd in the ground, bar the Harlequins pilot match at The Stoop.

“There have been international games without a crowd now and it is no longer a shock to the system, not that it isn’t a weird experience, of course. From an optimistic point of view, we keep thinking about how exciting it is going to be when we are able to get thousands of supporters back into the grounds around the country, and that for us will be a huge boost for the team.”

In what has been a peculiar end to the 2019/20 season, from battling through a global pandemic, working-out from home, returning to training and playing competitive matches and putting together an elevating run of games to make the top four and reach the play-offs, Ewels was also recently crowned a Champion of the Six Nations with England Rugby.

The 25-year-old explained just what it was like to be part of such a unique campaign and expressed his joy at fellow Clubman, Tom Dunn, who achieved his long-awaited first international cap in England’s title-winning match over Italy in Rome.

“It feels awesome to be crowned Six Nations Champions. This was my first Six Nations tournament that I have been involved in from a playing point of view. It was a class experience but weird because of COVID-19 for obvious reasons.

“The opening game against France seems like an age ago now but listening to some of the more senior guys in the squad, they’ve said that opportunities to win the Six Nations don’t come around a lot and to have that opportunity and to take it felt good.”

“It was really great to be in camp with the Bath lads and to see the amount of us there in camp is recognition of the hard work that goes on at Bath Rugby.

"When you are back at the Club, everything is about how we can improve and move forward and there are guys that are here and ones that aren’t that put in a huge amount of work in developing their own games tactically, physically and mentally. To see a lot of our guys get rewarded for their rugby at international level is brilliant. It’s brilliant for the Club and the individuals.”

On Dunn’s journey to the highest level, Ewels praised his teammate and friend in reaching a long-awaited and richly deserved debut for his country. Ewels added: “I was delighted to see Tom Dunn take the field against Italy. More so than just a Captain at the Club, but as a good friend too. Everyone’s journey in life is different and everyone’s journey to their first cap is always very different.

“Dunnie's journey has been a pretty special one and I have been lucky enough to see it and be involved. I know many other people know how much hard work he's put in and his determination that has gone into that.

“To see him being rewarded for that was very special and to be there with him was brilliant. It may have only been a minute on the field, but you could see just how much it meant to him and seeing his face at the end was special. I was so glad I could share the pitch with him on that stage and it was great to be there, I will treasure that moment.”

REVISIT THE MATCH REPORT FROM FEBRUARY 2019

LIVING LIFE WITH PERSPECTIVE

A fightback from heart surgery to continuing to play regular topflight rugby, and a continued career in the RAF as a Corporal Weapons Technician, McNally has had quite the journey in recent years as he strives to help Bath Rugby win silverware, whilst continuing to progress his career away from the pitch.

Going back to October 2017, Josh McNally was representing London Irish in the Premiership and following his side's defeat to Saracens, the powerful lock suffered a life-changing stroke.

“I played the full 80 minutes - I remember coming off absolutely fine and got home and just started to have a bit of a wobble. My wife Sarah, she was unbelievable, she got on to the Club Doctor, obviously concussion is a huge thing in the sport. Everyone just thought that it was a concussion, so I made a trip to the hospital.

“The staff couldn’t diagnose it initially until an MRI found that I had scar tissue on my brain, which led to me having a stroke. It was an unbelievable moment in my life, and when people think of a stroke, it’s quite a severe word. It could have been life-changing, but I was very, very fortunate.

“I had a 30-minute episode that sort of shut me down a little bit but after that 30 minutes I had no lasting symptoms, which for me is an unbelievable bit of luck. I managed to come out of that, but obviously the biggest thing was finding the reason for why I had a stroke.

“We spoke to so many great specialists and they actually found a hole in my heart, which everyone has when they’re born but for 75% of the population it just closes as you develop. The other 25% you could go through your entire life without finding it but as a professional athlete, I put my heart under so much stress that it got exposed and I had a very simple procedure to close that and had a few months out from the game.

“It was like no other injury because there was nothing I was trying to protect, it sounds stupid but guys come back from shoulders and knee injuries and want to protect that, but for me I knew that my heart was good and I could just go straight back into the game and take over from where I left off.

“For six months after it was quite a big story and everyone was asking me, but for me as soon as I was back playing it was done and I managed to move on from it. I have it as a distant memory, but yes, a huge bit of luck in my career as it could have all ended there and then. I could have retired from it but to be able to come back and have a second chance almost means I can live every day as it comes and not take anything for granted.”

As a professional athlete performing at the top level of English Rugby, McNally explained the impact following his stroke, which was later diagnosed as a Patent Foramen Ovale, and how the family has always been a key factor in how he coped back then and now as he continues his playing career in the West Country.

McNally continued: “It’s actually funny because I found out that Sarah was pregnant just before having a stroke, so a lot of my family had joked that was the reason why I’d had it.

“Becoming a father just gives you more perspective in life, it means everything to you, like rugby means everything to me but to go home and then be able to shut that away and have a family life, that helped me a lot. It’s quite nice to go home and have Sarah and Toby, who is two now, it just takes your mind off it and actually makes you a bit more refreshed when you come back in and you’re not digging away at rugby all the time.

“As an athlete, it helped to be able to go home and switch off. I think going home and having such a supportive family. Toby is getting to the age now where he absolutely loves rugby as well, so to know they support me is really exciting and it’s also an exciting time for them as they get to experience it all with me as well.

“Bath is exceptional for including everyone and their families. It’s also very tough at the moment but Sophie our Team Manager is unbelievable in keeping everyone in the loop and keeping the girls happy and there’s a real family buzz.”

Having come on leaps and bounds since this emotional chapter in his life, McNally has continued to play rugby union as well as progress through the ranks in the Royal Air Force. The 30-year-old is serving as a Corporal Weapons Technician and explained how he first got involved in sport whilst serving.

McNally said: “The Air Force has allowed me to come out and play professional rugby for the last six years and have fully supported me being at Bath Rugby. They absolutely love having elite athletes out playing professional sports. There are about 13 of us or 14 of us who are elite athletes that are out in World Championships and Olympics which is really cool.

“It’s a great advert for the RAF and they’re extremely supportive of how my journey has gone from being at London Welsh, playing semi-professional before that to the projection I’ve gone on and they absolutely love the journey that the sport has taken me on.

“It’s a huge part of the military so let’s hope that continues. As a Club, we’ve had a great partnership, we’ve had days at Brize Norton with Hoops (Stuart Hooper) and Hats (Neal Hatley), who have great contact with guys at the RAF on different leadership styles and things like that so it’s not just a case of them letting me go out to play rugby. I go back and do things and it’s a great partnership to keep everyone happy.”

The towering second row is coming towards the latter end of his playing career having made a huge transition on the rugby ladder from playing in the National Leagues to reaching the promised land in the Premiership, and with consideration of what his future holds, the 30-year-old has recently signed on for a full 22-year term of service in the RAF.

McNally continued: “That’s the plan, I’ll finish rugby when I decide or the Club decide, or when the RAF decide, and yes I’ll always intend to go back to the RAF. I didn’t join the RAF to play rugby, I joined and then the opportunity came about. I joined to have a great career in the RAF as it has got great perks, it’s a great lifestyle and I can’t wait to get back in the future.

“I’ve just recently signed on for my full 22-years for the RAF. I got to that milestone now that I’ve been in the service for 11 years, and you just sort of naturally get to that progression. I always feel like I have a future in the RAF.

“To have that opportunity to have job security and to know that I can go in post rugby it’s a great feeling for me knowing that I can go back but hopefully I can go back in and share some experience that I have learned out here and put that back into the sport in the military.

“I literally wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for them so they have been extremely supportive and they’ve sculpted me as a person and a player, it means everything to me to be part of the RAF.”

WELCOME NEWCASTLE FALCONS

Newcastle Falcons make their Gallagher Premiership return at the Rec today, playing their first competitive game in more than eight months.

Relegated from the topflight at the end of the 2018-19 season, the unbeaten Falcons were flying high with an 18-point lead at the top of the Championship when the season was brought to a premature halt in mid-March by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Home-and-away friendlies over the past fortnight against last season’s nearest challengers, Ealing Trailfinders have helped sharpen up the Kingston Park crew for their Premiership relaunch, with stability the buzz word.

The nucleus of last season’s title-winning squad remains in place, boosted by a host of key additions.

Former England centre Luther Burrell has returned to the 15-man code following a season with Super League’s Warrington Wolves, and will be joined in the midfield ranks next month when Argentina centre Matias Orlando arrives from Jaguares.

Italian international lock Marco Fuser’s arrival has bolstered the engine room, while the return of England’s Mark Wilson from his loan spell at Sale Sharks provides yet another tonic.

Tom Penny continues the theme of returning local stars as he heads back to Kingston Park from Harlequins, Newcastle’s other summer signings including ex-Springbok scrum-half Louis Schreuder, hooker Robbie Smith (Bedford Blues) and wing Iwan Stephens (Leeds Rhinos RL).

Former England and Harlequins No. 8 Nick Easter joins as defence coach after a successful few years with the Sharks and Natal Sharks in South Africa, Director of Rugby Dean Richards happy with the set-up he has in place.

“We made some positive progress and laid some solid foundations last season,” said the Falcons boss.

“We had been performing better and putting in some good results in the few weeks before the season was unfortunately halted, with our last two games seeing us winning 38-3 away to Jersey and 41-0 at home to Bedford.

“We know the Gallagher Premiership is a big step up from there but we’ve had a good period of preparation now, and we’re excited at the prospect of competing strongly on that stage.”

DIRECTOR OF RUGBY – DEAN RICHARDS

One of the most iconic No. 8's for England and the Lions during his glittering playing career, Dean Richards was appointed Newcastle Falcons' Director of Rugby in the summer of 2012.

Having won four Premiership titles and two Heineken Cups with Leicester Tigers as well as guiding Harlequins to promotion back to the topflight at the first attempt, he brought with him a wealth of proven experience.

The Midlander was capped 48 times by England and a further six by the British and Irish Lions over a decade-long international playing career.

His first season at the helm saw the Falcons bounce back up to the Premiership at the first time of asking after an almost unbeaten one-season run in the RFU Championship, while the 2017-18 campaign saw Richards winning the Premiership Director of Rugby of the season award following their fourth-placed finish.

Having defeated the likes of Toulon away and Montpellier at home during the 2018-19 Heineken Champions Cup season the campaign ultimately ended with the disappointment of domestic relegation, although with Richards offering the required stability the North Easterners bounced back at the first attempt.

ONES TO WATCH...

Michael Young

One name familiar to Bath supporters will be that of scrum-half Michael Young, who was one of Newcastle Falcons’ two co-captains during last season’s unbeaten title-winning campaign.

Now aged 31 and with 170 Falcons appearances under his belt, Young is one of many Falcons first team stars to have graduated through the famed Kingston Park academy system.

Playing his junior rugby with West Hartlepool and Brierton School, Young earned a scholarship to Durham School for the duration of his sixth form studies, playing for them in the Daily Mail Cup final at Twickenham.

Bursting onto the first team stage as a teenager with the Falcons, England Sevens honours quickly followed for the diminutive half-back, including scoring the winning try against New Zealand in the final of the World Sevens Series at Twickenham.

Heading to Leicester Tigers to broaden his horizons after earning England Saxons selection, Young spent two seasons with the Welford Road outfit before joining Bath Rugby, with whom he spent the next two years before returning to Newcastle Falcons in the summer of 2015.

Since returning to his first professional Club Young has once again gone on to become a mainstay of the side, serving as co-captain with George McGuigan last season. In all, he has scored 19 tries for the club in competitive action.

Sean Robinson

The 29-year-old lock was a key figure in the Falcons’ return to the Gallagher Premiership, forming a mainstay of the forward pack for the unbeaten Championship winners.

An ace line-out exponent who runs the Newcastle set-piece and has a proven track record of disrupting opposition ball, the 6 foot 4 forward is a product of Kings School in Worcester who spent a season playing for the famous Randwick club in Australia.

Pursuing his academic ambitions by completing a physics degree at Durham University, Robinson’s rugby education included a valuable dual-registration spell in the Championship with Rotherham, and he has now chalked up 85 first team appearances for the Falcons.

Signing a four-year deal in the summer of 2019, the former England Students international will be one to watch this season.

Toby Flood

The 60-times-capped England fly-half is in his second spell with Newcastle Falcons, having come through the Club’s academy.

A native of Northumberland who played his junior rugby with Alnwick and Morpeth, Flood made his Falcons debut as a teenager and has gone on to play 132 times for the Club.

Flood spent six seasons at Leicester Tigers where he became club captain, making 119 appearances and winning three Premiership titles before moving to French club Toulouse, where he enjoyed three seasons in the Top 14.

Returning to Tyneside three years ago, his leadership and playmaking abilities remain undiminished even at the age of 35.

JUNIOR ACADEMY UPDATE

The COVID-19 pandemic has caused a detrimental rippling effect throughout sport across the country - however Bath Rugby’s Junior Academy have been making great strides behind-the-scenes towards an end goal of returning to play and further develop their young players.

Here is an update from Academy Manager Craig Lilley, who has been working tirelessly behind the scenes with his staff to facilitate and move with the demands of the current economic climate.

Bath Rugby’s Academy Staff are currently working with the U18 and U16 squads on Monday evenings with no training returning to Farleigh House, due to the training base being a protected bubble for the senior squad.

Premiership Rugby Academies have been permitted to continue with U16 and U18 PDG training during lockdown, which as a Club we will be allowed to do so under the elite sport umbrella, as long as we stay compliant with RFU Stage D Guidance.

With this guidance, Lilley stated: “The coaches are using Monday evenings to work through key themes and principles of our game model to increase awareness of the tactical, technical, physical and mental demands and expectations that are required for this level of rugby.

“Given the current circumstances, we have been working closely with our community clubs to be able to continue running our programmes and keep the development of our players going week by week. A small group of players have been training on Thursdays at Oldfield RFC. These sessions have been driven by the individual needs of our players following guidance from Bath Rugby’s coaching team allowing the individuals to maximise development. We would like to extend our thanks to our community for their help during these challenging times.”

Lilley commented on the importance of the continuation of training and how the schools partnered with the Bath Rugby Academy have further encouraged the resumption of ‘normality’ in the sport.

He said: “It is a huge testament to the schools within our region who have consistently provided transport for their pupils to access an environment that will help maximise their potential in difficult circumstances.

“We have had a couple of guests come in to help assist and watch our young men train on these Thursdays. Jon Pendlebury (England U18 coach), Mark Mapletoft (England U18 coach).”

Five of Bath Rugby’s Junior Academy players trained in England U18 colours over the recent half term week with England having named their squads for two regionally based half term one-day development camps, as well as a separate two-day camp which was run at Bisham Abbey.

Partnerships

“The Club’s partnership with Beechen Cliff has been massively important to the Club recently. Beechen Cliff provides a much-needed state school pathway to high-level rugby, which mirrors a well-established and successful existing partnership.

“One of the crucial parts of the partnership is working together to enable the young players in the pathway to balance their academic and rugby commitments. We can provide high performance-standard strength and conditioning, match analysis, positional coaching and physiotherapy to give players the best opportunity to achieve their full potential alongside the strong academic programme at Beechen Cliff.

“The programme is underpinned by a development-driven and evidence-based approach to coaching and athletic preparation so the opportunity to give these players a series of high-quality experiences day in, day out has been extremely valuable.”

Building relationships

“All players within the academy have been working hard off the pitch by producing Individual Development Plans. We want our players to be proactive in their efforts to learn because they are aware of their strengths and limitations and because they are guided by personally set goals and task-related strategies. The work our staff have put in around this area will have a massive impact on the development of our young men within our region.

“We want to continue to build our relationships and connections with the players and increase face-to-face contact time. In situations where face to face meetings is not always possible, we have invested our time in catching up with players interactively to help players make sense of their journey by helping them understand where they currently are and what they need to do next to maximise their potential.”

The coming months…

“Our Academy Analyst, Scott Mogridge is working hard with our coaches to ensure that we maximise our time with all our players when they arrive to sessions. This is delivered through carefully designed previews and reviews to allow players to engage with off field tasks to ensure they are problem solving and making sense of our game in their own time. All this information is shared on an online platform where coaches and players can interact based on the footage / statistics that has been sent out.

“It has been agreed with RFU/ PFL that the U18 Academy fixtures will commence in February. There will now be four games against other Academies, and they will be played as friendlies rather than the usual league format.

“We were fortunate to be able to re-group with some of our Academy Players post lockdown and we will continue to expand our programme delivery as we move through the Winter months. We’re all hugely committed to accelerating their development and achieve the aim of producing a 50% homegrown squad by 2023.”

PRE-SEASON TRAINING

Over the past eight months Bath Rugby Foundation has been through the biggest challenge in its 17-year history.

When the UK went into lockdown on March 23rd BRF was faced with two choices, buckle under the pressure of losing £250k in funding overnight, or reach out to the Bath community (on Zoom), harness the city’s collective passion and skills, and direct energy to the children and young people who were in most need.

Summer BreakOut (SBO) was born.

SBO coincided with the end of the first lockdown (during July) and was a six week programme of sport, nutrition, art crafts, music, life-skills and work experience for hundreds of children, families and young people in and around our city.

Sadly, this type of intervention was needed because at the end of 2019 Bath was named one of the most unequal cities in the UK and our Local Education Authority (LEA) was ranked 146 out of 152 for their ‘attainment gap’ which stands at 31% compared to a national figure of 20%. Unfortunately, the gap between the more and less affluent in Bath is a lot wider than the UK average.

COVID-19 only served to increase the attainment gap and to exacerbate the need. Children, young people and families living on the breadline suffered even more than most, with adults facing redundancy, reduced opportunities, and the added pressure of a lack of structured education for their children.

A community problem called for a community solution.

The relationships BRF formed with individuals, other like-minded charities and business leaders proved game changing. BRF helped bring the city together during the toughest of times.

The SBO team had 7 objectives:

1. Reducing isolation for children, young people and families living in areas of deprivation.

2. Increasing physical activity levels in children, young people, and their families.

3. Decreasing anxieties for families around food poverty throughout the school holidays and provide accessible hot meals.

4. Providing a safe, community space for communal meals.

5. Increasing self-esteem in children and young people and their families.

6. Developing resilience and social and emotional skills for families and young people to be ‘ready’ to return to school.

7. Providing access to income, career and financial guidance and support.

BRF has been working in the holiday hunger space for four years and will be extending BreakOuts into Christmas and Easter and of course next Summer. Bath Rugby and its supporters have played an incredible part in making this type of sustainable support possible and every pound you donate makes our community stronger.

WELCOME BACK MY FRIENDS…

It’s not quite the “show that never ends” which prog-rock afficionados of a certain vintage like me will remember Emerson Lake and Palmer singing about in 1974, but the start of 20/21 seems to have come around very quickly after the late finish to 19/20.

Unfortunately it looks as if it will be a long time yet before we can get back to making the Rec once again the iconic rugby amphitheatre that we all know it to be, but if the latter part of the 19/20 season is anything to go by then there’s a lot to look forward to.

And don’t we all need it! My wife and I have been pretty lucky during this hugely difficult time but for many people, 2020 will sadly be a year in which their lives changed forever. As the days get shorter and the weather worsens even the most resilient of us have our bad days and that’s where sport is so powerful.

The sheer visceral joy of supporting the boys in BB&W, even if it’s via the tv, internet stream or radio is guaranteed to lift the spirits (and it’s even better when we win!).

Continuing with the theme of welcoming back our friends, I’m delighted that BRSC membership numbers for the 20/21 season have shot past the 700 mark.

That’s a huge milestone met; many thanks to all returning members and a very big welcome to those of you joining us for the first time. We’re working very hard to keep everybody in touch through our Newsflashes and on social media and we’ve taken the opportunity to refresh our list of Discount Partners so when we come out of lockdown there will be plenty of offers to take advantage of. You can still join BRSC for season 20/21 and enjoy our great range of Membership benefits.

SIGN UP HERE

You might be wondering who won the BRSC Awards for season 19-20. I’m happy to announce that the votes have been counted and the mementos are being engraved. We’re working with our friends at Bath Rugby to organise a means of getting them to the winners in a “Covid compliant” way and as soon as we’ve done that we’ll produce a special Newsflash announcing the Winners. It’s also the time of year when we traditionally hold our Charity Quiz night.

Obviously, we can’t do it in person this year, but following the success of our Evening with Francois Louw back in September, we’re planning to hold a “zoom” based just for fun version, featuring questions set by BRSC Quizmaster extraordinaire, Dave Stock. We’ll let you have the details as soon as we’ve sorted it all out.

Finally, it’s time to welcome Newcastle Falcons back to the Rec. This game won’t be easy; Falcons have always proved to be dogged, difficult opponents and they will be looking for a great start back in the Premiership. We’ve got some key players away on international duty but these days we’ve got real strength in depth so let’s get behind the boys. They know we’re there for them! (oh, and Falcons fans, no you can’t have Josh Matavesi back!)