Fans frustration growing as long-held ambitions missed
HENRY BATE has been a Bath Rugby supporter for 28 years and a seasonticket holder at the Rec for 15 years. Having followed the club through turbulent times he offers an assessment on the Bruce Craig era, Stuart Hooper taking charge of the club and what needs urgently addressing...
After Sunday’s dour draw against Sale Sharks I cast my mind back to 2010. I remember clearly the day that Bruce Craig was announced as the new owner of Bath Rugby. The lavish press conference took place at Farleigh House, the new unbeknown base of the club, an obvious statement of wealth and power designed to excite Bath staff and supporters and intimidate everyone else in equal measure. The mantra was clear. His and Bath’s aim was to dominate Europe and build a new stadium in time to host Rugby World Cup matches in 2015. I am sat here writing this eightand-a-half years on from the takeover. The trophy cabinet is bare with the key rusting slowly (and has been for ten years) and we have just witnessed one of the most lacklustre performances in recent memory in the same dilapidated but wonderful ground. Bath’s ambitions surely now must centre on survival in 2019 as no other side other than Leicester Tigers are playing with less confidence as we approach Christmas and New Year – a period the club has struggled with in recent times. There are no certainties in sport and Bath Rugby is a contemporary example of that. A club with all the resources, players and supporters to be a title winning side are flattering to deceive. This is precisely why CEO Tarquin Mcdonald addressed supporters in September to put an end to speculation over the coaching dynamic and set-up. An open letter was published after Bath had delivered a superb bonus-point win away to Harlequins, followed by a home win against Northampton Saints, a day before the subsequent hiding by Saracens. The timing was strategically managed to coincide with good feeling. It was widely praised as a refreshing way of allowing supporters into the inner sanctum of Farleigh and valued insight. Outlining long-term plans was designed to provide the stability that had never previously been outlined. Nine weeks on, Bath have managed only one further victory against Worcester Warriors and have returned only three wins from 14 matches this season. I would be surprised if there had not been some regret that this letter was published by the hierarchy of the club. Mcdonald wrote “we are not in transition”. He is right. In my view it is now much closer to a crisis. The main worry is, after announcing the future direction of the club, how long must the slump be allowed to continue? Would we allow the club to be relegated in order to fulfil this plan? I hope not. Stuart Hooper being groomed for the next director of rugby job has always sat uneasily with me. I am on record as saying that it would have been a much better exercise for him to go out and experience other environments and learn from different eyes and ears. I admire former Ireland and Munster fly-half Ronan O’gara for what he has done in his coaching development. He could have walked into an Irish province and been given a senior management job. Instead, he is learning in different environments and cultures, first at Racing 92 in France and now at the allconquering Crusaders in Super Rugby. Hooper has been at the club since 2008 and has not experienced anything other than mediocrity in terms of the club’s success. He never won a trophy in his Bath career and the club have only reached the Premiership play-offs once – under Mike Ford in 2014/15 – since Craig bought the club in 2010. Would Hooper’s time not have been better spent working within a winning environment, learning from other coaches? Look at Nick Easter... sacked from Harlequins in May after being at the club for a decade. He went to Durban in the Summer on a shortterm contract with the Sharks and delivered the Currie Cup. He will return to the UK a much better coach. The startling unwinding of Bath’s game has been stark and worrying. In September, they produced an attacking masterclass at the Stoop that has yet to be replicated this season. New attack coach Girvan Demsey’s influence took an encouraging start but, recently, has now become invisible. Sunday showed Bath were devoid of ideas. This is illustrated in Sale’s tackling stats. They had a 94 per cent completion rate. Why? Because Bath didn’t test the defence. Instead of looking for contact on its merits they sought it at every opportunity, exasperated by slow ball and static runners. Equally worrying is that director of rugby Todd Backadder couldn’t explain the game plan on display either. This is not what they trained and talked about, so why are the players going off script. Is everyone not on the same page? Bath seem deeply devoid of any confidence, not helped by the poor decision-making we’ve been seeing in the half-backs. This needs to be addressed as a priority in the summer. As we move into Champions Cup rugby the days Craig and the supporters dreamed of, based on current performances humiliation against Leinster over the next fortnight is surely inevitable. A true barometer of where Bath measure up against Europe’s finest could be a harrowing realisation that they are as far away from Craig’s grand vision as when he took the keys to Farleigh House. Worse still is that Craig has always said the “Bath way” is an attacking, exhilarating brand of rugby. What is being served up at the moment is impotent. Seeing the stunning team and solo tries being scored up the road in Bristol and Gloucester is galling. Two poor results against the European champions and a poor return from the Christmas programme and Blackadder’s tenure would surely become untenable.