Blackadder’s call for Mercer is baffling

I UNDERSTAND international players will be absent at times throughout the season but I do not get for one second why Bath would make Guy Mercer their new captain.

Mercer is a very good player, no doubt, and like new Bath boss Todd Blackadder said, he is a local lad who cares about the club.

But how does that really help when you’re sat on the bench behind one of the world’s supreme opensides in Francois Louw? I don’t get it. Dave Attwood would have been a much better pick in my eyes.

The West Country club were a shadow of themselves last season and they desperately need their leaders to stand up and be counted. But to do that they need to be on the pitch.

Picking a club captain who can’t get in the team is a bizarre start for Blackadder. NICK WHITE

via email