Squad urged JJ to sign new contract

There was a time when it looked as if this would be Jonathan Joseph’s last season with Bath Rugby. The England centre was well into the final year of his current deal, he hadn’t played for nine months due to a foot injury, other big names had re-signed and he was being linked to clubs including Bristol Bears, Gloucester and Northampton Saints. But at the end of January Joseph did put pen to paper on a new twoyear contract which will keep him at the Rec until 2021 at least. Now he has revealed the biggest reason he is staying on – the support of his team-mates. “It’s the backing I’ve had from all the players and definitely certain players,” he told the Chronicle. “We all have a common goal of where we want to go as a team. “I had so many players come and have private conversations willing me to stay and hoping I was going to stay, because they feel I’m a key part of that vision and journey. “That ultimately meant so much to me. As soon as I had a few boys do that it was very obvious where my loyalties lie – that’s with those boys I take the field with.” Joseph preferred to keep the names of the players who pulled him aside to himself. After playing for 50 minutes and 60+ minutes against Toulouse and Gloucester, Joseph reckoned he was up to speed enough for an 80-minute performance against Newcastle Falcons on Saturday, and accomplished just that as Bath won 30-13. The 52-0 Premiership Rugby Cup thrashing of the Cherry and Whites was the first time he had played outside Jamie Roberts in the centres. “He’s got 94 caps for Wales so he’s got a hell of a lot of exeprience,” Joseph said. “His running lines, in terms of sucking in defenders, more times than not he’s breaking half a tackle so the front-foot ball you get off the back of that is monumental in terms of how we want to play and get the ball wide into space. “He dents the line for us and the rest of us can play off him.” Joseph isn’t in the England squad at the moment, but he did join them for their pre-six Nations camp in Portugal. He’s currently behind Henry Slade and Manu Tuilagi for the 13 shirt but enjoyed meeting up with the Red Rose squad. “The training load was similar to what I do here,” he said. “Obviously, I need to keep managing my foot because, ultimately, that’s a big injury and it’s been a tough old road to get it right. “England are doing exceptionally well. I wouldn’t expect many changes there. “All I can do is look after myself and look to put in the best performances I can for my club.”