Bath Rugby is a professional
rugby union
Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand. In its m ...
club in
Bath, Somerset
Bath () is a city in the Bath and North East Somerset unitary area in the county of Somerset, England, known for and named after its Roman-built baths. At the 2021 Census, the population was 101,557. Bath is in the valley of the River Avon, ...
,
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
. They play in
Premiership Rugby
Premiership Rugby, officially known as Gallagher Premiership Rugby, or the Gallagher Premiership for sponsorship reasons, is an English professional rugby union competition. The Premiership has consisted of thirteen clubs since 2021, and is the ...
, England's top division of rugby.
Founded in 1865 as Bath Football Club, since 1894 the club has played at the
Recreation Ground
A park is an area of natural, semi-natural or planted space set aside for human enjoyment and recreation or for the protection of wildlife or natural habitats. Urban parks are green spaces set aside for recreation inside towns and cities. N ...
in the city centre.
The club has won 18 major trophies and was particularly successful between 1984 and 1998 when it won 10
Domestic Cups, 6
League titles and were the first English side to win the
European Cup in
1998. In
2008 they also won the
European Challenge Cup
The EPCR Challenge Cup is an annual rugby union competition organised by European Professional Club Rugby (EPCR). It is the second-tier competition for clubs based in European leagues behind the European Rugby Champions Cup. From its inception i ...
, the continent's second tier of competition. Bath is one of only three clubs never to have been relegated from the top division of English rugby.
For the
2022–23 Premiership Rugby season, Bath will also compete in the
2022–23 European Rugby Challenge Cup.
The current Head of Rugby is
Johann van Graan
Johann Christoffel van Graan (born 18 March 1980) is a South African rugby union coach, currently the head coach for Bath.
Coaching career
Van Graan did not have any top level playing career. With family background in rugby, he showed very s ...
, having started in role ahead of the 2022-23 pre-season in July 2022.
History
Amateur era
Bath Football Club is one of the oldest clubs in existence, having been founded in 1865 by members of
Lansdown Cricket Club
Lansdown Cricket Club, formed in 1825, is recognised as the earliest official organised cricket club in Somerset. Originally based in Lansdown, since 1869 the club has been based at Combe Park, Bath, adjacent to the Royal United Hospital.
Foun ...
in Bath (founded 1825) for 'something to do in the winter'. This is the reason why the club colours of the two clubs are identical. With an original home base at North Parade, Bath then led a nomadic existence during the 1800s playing at Claverton Down, Lambridge Meadows, Taylor's Field and Henrietta Park. They then leased a plot of land at Pulteney Meadow, where today's Rec stands. With most games played against local opposition:
Weston-super-Mare
Weston-super-Mare, also known simply as Weston, is a seaside town in North Somerset, England. It lies by the Bristol Channel south-west of Bristol between Worlebury Hill and Bleadon Hill. It includes the suburbs of Mead Vale, Milton, Oldmix ...
,
Gloucester
Gloucester ( ) is a cathedral city and the county town of Gloucestershire in the South West of England. Gloucester lies on the River Severn, between the Cotswolds to the east and the Forest of Dean to the west, east of Monmouth and east ...
,
Clifton
Clifton may refer to:
People
*Clifton (surname)
*Clifton (given name)
Places
Australia
* Clifton, Queensland, a town
**Shire of Clifton
*Clifton, New South Wales, a suburb of Wollongong
*Clifton, Western Australia
Canada
*Clifton, Nova Scotia ...
and the "Arabs" from
Bristol
Bristol () is a city, ceremonial county and unitary authority in England. Situated on the River Avon, it is bordered by the ceremonial counties of Gloucestershire to the north and Somerset to the south. Bristol is the most populous city in ...
. By the 1890s,
Welsh
Welsh may refer to:
Related to Wales
* Welsh, referring or related to Wales
* Welsh language, a Brittonic Celtic language spoken in Wales
* Welsh people
People
* Welsh (surname)
* Sometimes used as a synonym for the ancient Britons (Celtic peop ...
clubs were starting to become regular opponents, with
Cardiff
Cardiff (; cy, Caerdydd ) is the capital and largest city of Wales. It forms a principal area, officially known as the City and County of Cardiff ( cy, Dinas a Sir Caerdydd, links=no), and the city is the eleventh-largest in the United Kingd ...
and
Penarth regularly appearing in the fixture list. With a traditionally lightweight pack, they would suffer regular defeats. The club played its first fixture against overseas opposition in 1907, as Racing Club de Bordelais crossed the Channel to play at the Rec. 1954 saw a first overseas tour by Bath, who beat the French teams St Claude (23–3). Givors (9–6) and Tour du Pin (17–0).
The trip was repeated the following year with wins against St Claude (13–8), Dijon (14–0) and Macon (8–3) as captain Peter Sibley was the first to develop the ethos for fast, attacking rugby in the Sixties.
With six-foot four-inch players such as England international back row David Gay, Peter Heindorff, Sibley had players with physique to impose this style of play. With the mercurial John Horton and the incisive Mike Beese, the side continued to develop Bath's reputation in the early Seventies with wins over the top Welsh sides. However, the revolution began with the arrival of coach
Jack Rowell
Jack Rowell OBE (born 1937) is an English rugby union coach and executive. He is the former coach of Bath and England.
Rugby career Coaching
Between 1978 and 1994 Rowell coached Bath during their ''golden era'', winning eight John Player/Pilki ...
in 1978. Rowell transformed the ethos of a club that had traditionally drawn its players from the immediate locality. When formalised competitions started in the 1980s
Jack Rowell
Jack Rowell OBE (born 1937) is an English rugby union coach and executive. He is the former coach of Bath and England.
Rugby career Coaching
Between 1978 and 1994 Rowell coached Bath during their ''golden era'', winning eight John Player/Pilki ...
brought premature professionalism to Bath and began to assemble a side with power and precision. The power, provided by
Gareth Chilcott and Roger Spurrell was complemented by the precision of John Horton and winger David Trick.
By 1984, the first of ten knock-out cup successes had been achieved, at the expense of Bristol. Bath dominated the
John Player Cup
The Anglo-Welsh Cup (), was a cross-border rugby union knock-out cup competition that featured the 12 Premiership Rugby clubs and the four Welsh regions. It was a created as a replacement for the RFU Knockout Cup, which featured only English club ...
winning it four years on a trot, from 1984 to 1987. The cup sponsor changed to Pilkington, and Bath after a blip in 1988 dominated that cup as well winning it a further six times.
The
formal league structure started in 1987 and Bath dominated the early years of the competition winning six times in eight years and doing the "double" four times. Bath were an unstoppable force in 1988–89 and ran away with the league title, winning the first ten of their eleven league matches. Their only defeat was at
Leicester
Leicester ( ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city, Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority and the county town of Leicestershire in the East Midlands of England. It is the largest settlement in the East Midlands.
The city l ...
in the last game of the season, when Bath, with the title already won, rested several key players. The two sides met again a week later in the
Pilkington Cup final at Twickenham which Bath won 10–6 to become the first English club to wrap up the double of winning both League and Cup.
1990 saw the last of six consecutive Twickenham final wins, defeating
Gloucester
Gloucester ( ) is a cathedral city and the county town of Gloucestershire in the South West of England. Gloucester lies on the River Severn, between the Cotswolds to the east and the Forest of Dean to the west, east of Monmouth and east ...
48–6.
1993–94 saw a unique "Grand Slam" of titles. In addition to the league (played on a home and away basis for the first time), the team won the Pilkington Cup (beating Leicester, with tries from Tony Swift and a youthful
Mike Catt
Michael John Catt OBE (born 17 September 1971) is a South African-born former rugby union player who played for the England national rugby union team. He played professionally for the clubs London Irish and Bath. He earned 75 international ca ...
), the
Middlesex Sevens The Middlesex Sevens was a Rugby Sevens tournament held annually at Twickenham stadium in London, England until 2011. It was first held in 1926, and started by Dr J.A. Russell-Cargill, a London-based Scot.Bath, ''Scotland Rugby Miscellany'', p82 Th ...
(beating Orrell in the Final) and the Worthington Tens. Arguably the most "professional" amateur club side in English history, Bath has struggled to match the achievements of the Eighties and early Nineties.
In May 1996, Bath Rugby and
Wigan RLFC made history by
playing against each other at both codes. The first match was at
Maine Road
Maine Road was a football stadium in Moss Side, Manchester, England, that was home to Manchester City F.C. from 1923 to 2003. It hosted FA Cup semi-finals, the Charity Shield, a League Cup final and England matches. Maine Road's highest atte ...
,
Manchester
Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...
under League rules and saw Bath struggle, eventually losing 82-6. In the return fixture under Union rules at
Twickenham
Twickenham is a suburban district in London, England. It is situated on the River Thames southwest of Charing Cross. Historically part of Middlesex, it has formed part of the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames since 1965, and the boroug ...
, Bath were able to regain a measure of pride by beating Wigan 44-19.
Professional era
Jack Rowell
Jack Rowell OBE (born 1937) is an English rugby union coach and executive. He is the former coach of Bath and England.
Rugby career Coaching
Between 1978 and 1994 Rowell coached Bath during their ''golden era'', winning eight John Player/Pilki ...
's departure (to take control of the
England team) in 1995 and rugby union becoming a professional sport in 1996 has seen Bath struggle to find consistency either on or off the field. With regular changes in the coaching staff (including
Andy Robinson
Richard Andrew Robinson OBE (born 3 April 1964) is an English rugby union coach and retired player. He was the director of rugby at Bristol until November 2016. He is the former head coach of Scotland and England. From September 2019 to Dec ...
's appointment as England's head coach) and with a seemingly steady turnaround of players, the formula that led to past successes is still being sought. However, Bath captained by
Andy Nicol
Andrew Douglas Nicol (born 12 March 1971), is a former Scotland international rugby union player. A scrum-half, Nicol won 23 caps for Scotland and had brief spells as a replacement on two British & Irish Lions tours.
Rugby Union career
Amate ...
still managed to be the first British club to lift the
Heineken Cup
The European Rugby Champions Cup (known as the Heineken Champions Cup for sponsorship reasons) is an annual rugby union tournament organised by European Professional Club Rugby (EPCR). It is the top-tier competition for clubs who compete in a pre ...
, in the 1997–1998 season. Bath beat French club
Brive 19–18 in an exciting final in
Bordeaux
Bordeaux ( , ; Gascon oc, Bordèu ; eu, Bordele; it, Bordò; es, Burdeos) is a port city on the river Garonne in the Gironde department, Southwestern France. It is the capital of the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region, as well as the prefectur ...
with
Jon Callard scoring all the points for Bath.
Despite European glory, Bath slumped to sixth in the league the next season. In the disastrous league campaign of 2002–03, relegation was avoided by only a single point on the last day.
Having narrowly avoided relegation and merger with bitter rivals
Bristol
Bristol () is a city, ceremonial county and unitary authority in England. Situated on the River Avon, it is bordered by the ceremonial counties of Gloucestershire to the north and Somerset to the south. Bristol is the most populous city in ...
in the 2002–03 season, the club invested heavily in its squad, with no fewer than 15 changes in personnel during the summer of 2003.
Jack Rowell
Jack Rowell OBE (born 1937) is an English rugby union coach and executive. He is the former coach of Bath and England.
Rugby career Coaching
Between 1978 and 1994 Rowell coached Bath during their ''golden era'', winning eight John Player/Pilki ...
and
Michael Foley recruited wisely and the appointment of
John Connolly as head coach helped gel the players into a formidable unit and the team ended the regular season at the top of the table six points clear of
Wasps
A wasp is any insect of the narrow-waisted suborder Apocrita of the order Hymenoptera which is neither a bee nor an ant; this excludes the broad-waisted sawflies (Symphyta), which look somewhat like wasps, but are in a separate suborder. ...
, but lost in the play-off final match at
Twickenham
Twickenham is a suburban district in London, England. It is situated on the River Thames southwest of Charing Cross. Historically part of Middlesex, it has formed part of the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames since 1965, and the boroug ...
.
Bath finished 4th at the end of the 2004–05 season. The club reached the
Powergen Cup
The RFU Knockout Cup was an English rugby union competition open to any member of the Rugby Football Union. First contested in 1971, it was the premier competition in English club rugby before the establishment of the English league structure in 1 ...
final after a dramatic extra-time try by Andy Williams in the semi-final against
Gloucester
Gloucester ( ) is a cathedral city and the county town of Gloucestershire in the South West of England. Gloucester lies on the River Severn, between the Cotswolds to the east and the Forest of Dean to the west, east of Monmouth and east ...
, but lost to
Leeds
Leeds () is a city and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds district in West Yorkshire, England. It is built around the River Aire and is in the eastern foothills of the Pennines. It is also the third-largest settlement (by populati ...
at
Twickenham
Twickenham is a suburban district in London, England. It is situated on the River Thames southwest of Charing Cross. Historically part of Middlesex, it has formed part of the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames since 1965, and the boroug ...
after a poor display. The pack continued to dominate but, with a backline once again decimated by injuries, many bemoaned the 10-man rugby displayed by Bath. Two players,
Matt Stevens and
Danny Grewcock
Daniel Jonathan Grewcock MBE (born 7 November 1972) is an English former rugby union player who played as a lock. He played for Coventry, Saracens and Bath. He won 69 caps for England and five for the British & Irish Lions.
Early life
Grewcock ...
, were selected for the
Lions tour to New Zealand.
By the end of the 2004–05 season, Coach John Connolly had announced his intention to return to his native Australia, having created one of the most dominant packs in club rugby. The appointment of ex-England National Academy Manager
Brian Ashton as the new head coach was announced in November 2005, and marked the return of the popular coach, who helped lead Bath to six league titles and six cup titles between 1989 and 1996. In May 2006, rumours of Ashton's return to the England coaching setup were rife. These rumours were confirmed on 25 May 2006, when Bath agreed to release Ashton from his contract for an undisclosed compensatory figure, to return to the
RFU
The Rugby Football Union (RFU) is the national governing body for rugby union in England. It was founded in 1871, and was the sport's international governing body prior to the formation of what is now known as World Rugby (WR) in 1886. It pro ...
fold as attack coach for the England team.
![Bath Rugby v Stade toulousain Collapsed scrum Heineken Cup](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/fe/Bath_Rugby_v_Stade_toulousain_Collapsed_scrum_Heineken_Cup.jpg)
Well known Bath players from the recent history of the club include
Jeremy Guscott
Jeremy Clayton Guscott (born 7 July 1965) is a British former rugby union outside centre who played for Bath, England and the British and Irish Lions. He also appeared for England on the wing.
Guscott was born in Bath, Somerset, one of the tw ...
;
Dan Lyle
Daniel Joseph Lyle (born September 28, 1970) is an American former rugby union player who played for the United States national rugby union team 45 times from 1994 to 2003, serving as U.S. captain in 24 of those matches. Lyle played number eigh ...
, one of the first
Americans
Americans are the Citizenship of the United States, citizens and United States nationality law, nationals of the United States, United States of America.; ; Although direct citizens and nationals make up the majority of Americans, many Multi ...
to play regularly in Britain; England captain
Phil de Glanville
Philip Ranulph de Glanville (born 1 October 1968 in Loughborough) is a former English rugby union player who played at centre for Bath and England.
Rugby career
de Glanville played for Durham University while an Economics and Politics stude ...
; and
Andy Robinson
Richard Andrew Robinson OBE (born 3 April 1964) is an English rugby union coach and retired player. He was the director of rugby at Bristol until November 2016. He is the former head coach of Scotland and England. From September 2019 to Dec ...
, an assistant coach of the
Rugby World Cup
The Rugby World Cup is a men's rugby union tournament contested every four years between the top international teams. The tournament is administered by World Rugby, the sport's international governing body. The winners are awarded the Webb E ...
– winning England side, who went on to be the England team's head coach and head coach of
Scotland
Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...
.
Throughout the 2004–05 and 2005–06 seasons, Bath Rugby played in the Heineken Cup – a European cup tournament. In 2006 they controversially defeated Leicester Tigers in the quarter finals at a sold out Walkers' Stadium in Leicester, being reduced to 13 men for the last ten minutes of the match for continual infringements at the scrummage. Bath then went on to lose the semi-finals against Biarritz. As they finished 9th in the league that year, Bath were ineligible for the 2006–07 HC competition, instead contesting the European Challenge Cup.
Bath were forced to find a new coaching team in the summer of 2006 after head coach Brian Ashton joined the England national team, forwards coach Michael Foley returned to Australia and skills coach Richard Graham joined Saracens. Backs coach, Steve Meehan, was appointed the new acting head coach.
His appointment was later made permanent.
In 2008 Bath won their first silverware in 10 years, beating Worcester to win the
European Challenge Cup
The EPCR Challenge Cup is an annual rugby union competition organised by European Professional Club Rugby (EPCR). It is the second-tier competition for clubs based in European leagues behind the European Rugby Champions Cup. From its inception i ...
. After defeat in the 2003 and 2007 finals, it was third time lucky for the English team who ground out an impressive win over Worcester Warriors at Kingsholm. Outgoing skipper Steve Borthwick led by example and was a tower of strength in the lineout on his way to becoming FedEx Man of the match. Borthwick, who went on to join Saracens the following season, was carried aloft by his jubilant teammates after a titanic tussle in appalling conditions. Worcester won the toss and opted to play with the wind at their backs in the first period. It mattered not as Bath dominated possession and territory in the first quarter, and deservedly took the lead on 15 minutes with an Olly Barkley penalty. Barkley went on to score a second penalty a drop goal and a conversion, but it was tries from Jonny Fa'amatuainu and Nick Abendanon that put the game beyond the reach of brave Worcester. Bath won 24–16.
On 14 April 2010, Bath Rugby announced a change of ownership and set out new plans for the future of the club,
[ ] including a proposal to create a new club headquarters at
Farleigh House
Farleigh House, or Farleigh Castle, sometimes called Farleigh New Castle, is a large English country house in the county of Somerset, formerly the centre of the Farleigh Hungerford estate. Much of the stone to build it came from the nearby Farlei ...
and a commitment to build a new 20,000–25,000-seat stadium.
In 2011 the new owners brought in Gary Gold as head coach to replace the short-lived Ian McGeechan, who had briefly replaced Meehan. After a poor first season Gold was promoted to a director of rugby while defence coach Mike Ford became head coach. In December 2013 Gold left the club under unclear circumstances.
After a disappointing season seeing Bath finish 9th in the table, Mike Ford left the club at the end of the 2015–2016 season after an in depth review of the club was carried out, Neal Hatley joined Eddie Jones with the England team and Danny Grewcock left as Bath's Academy Director. On the 28 July 2016 Bath announced that Todd Blackadder would be taking over as director of rugby and Tabai Matson as head coach. This would see Blackadder reportedly signing a 3-year deal and Matson a 4-year deal.
On the 15 December 2021, Bath announced the appointment of Johann van Graan as their new Head of Rugby, following a wholesale review and restructuring of the coaching and conditioning teams. Van Graan joined Bath from Irish provincial rugby club
Munster
Munster ( gle, an Mhumhain or ) is one of the provinces of Ireland, in the south of Ireland. In early Ireland, the Kingdom of Munster was one of the kingdoms of Gaelic Ireland ruled by a "king of over-kings" ( ga, rí ruirech). Following the ...
on a long-term contract, with the aim of stabilising and rebuilding the club's fortunes following the disappointing 2021-22 season.
Budget
Supporters
![Bath Rugby Shop](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a6/Bath_Rugby_Shop.jpg)
The official supporters' club of Bath Rugby was formed in January 1997.
Stadium
![Bath Rec temporary seating](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/33/Bath_Rec_temporary_seating.JPG)
Bath play at the
Recreation Ground
A park is an area of natural, semi-natural or planted space set aside for human enjoyment and recreation or for the protection of wildlife or natural habitats. Urban parks are green spaces set aside for recreation inside towns and cities. N ...
, also known as "The Rec". The stadium is in the centre of the city, next to the River Avon. For the 2009–10 season the ground capacity was expanded to 11,700, and Bath play all of their home matches there during the club season. During summer, the ground is adjusted to make it capable for holding
cricket
Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. The batting side scores runs by striki ...
matches. This cricket field is used for local contests and by
Somerset County Cricket Club for one match a year.
Development of the Rec
In November 2009 the new chief executive,
Nick Blofeld, stated the club is now seeking a mostly seated stadium for 20,000 to suit modern professional rugby, with potential for future expansion, containing "restaurants and cafés, hospitality suites, conference facilities and good food and beverage outlets and other potential retail outlets".
The issue of the charitable status of the Rec has prevented progress, but in 2013 the Charity Commission recommended a scheme to allow the club's former training ground at Lambridge to be exchanged for an extended footprint on the Rec free from the charitable rules. While a few appeals remain to be heard, the club is pushing on with designs for an 18,500-seat stadium, and intends to apply for planning permission in 2014.
The First Tier Tribunal decided to limit the land available to the club which has meant that pending leave to appeal the club's development plans have had to be put on ice. As a result, the club has put in a planning application to extend its capacity to 14,000 on a temporary basis for next two seasons to cover their 150th anniversary celebrations in 2015.
After being successful with recent planning applications, the club has been able to increase capacity by 1,000 for the 2016/17 season onwards – taking the capacity to 14,500 spectators for home games. The works took place during the 2016 off-season and saw the West Stand partially demolished and improved facilities provided, including bars, food outlets and toilets. The new consents will last for four years and will enable Bath to focus solely on resolution of a permanent redevelopment solution for the Rec, without on-going debate around temporary stands during this period. Permanent development proposals are intended to be brought forward long before the expiry of the four-year period.
Au updated decision in December 2016 from the Charity First-Tier Tribunal relating to a revised Scheme for the governance of the Bath Recreation Ground, including the use of the Recreation Ground site, was said by the club to "re-open the door to redevelopment at the Rec".
Twickenham Stadium
Since the
2016-17 season, Bath Rugby have played an annual home fixture at
Twickenham Stadium
Twickenham Stadium () in Twickenham, south-west London, England, is a rugby union stadium owned by the Rugby Football Union (RFU), English rugby union governing body, which has its headquarters there. The England national rugby union team plays ...
. The fixture; dubbed
The Clash
The Clash were an English rock band formed in London in 1976 who were key players in the original wave of British punk rock. Billed as "The Only Band That Matters", they also contributed to the and new wave movements that emerged in the wa ...
is normally played around Easter and forms part of a five-year deal to host games at Twickenham. The 2017 match had an attendance of 61,868, and the 2018 match had 60,880 spectators.
Current kit
The kit is supplied by
Macron. On the front of the shirt,
Dyson Dyson may refer to:
* Dyson (surname), people with the surname Dyson
* Dyson (company), a Singaporean multinational home appliances company founded by James Dyson
* Dyson (crater), a crater on the Moon
* Dyson (operating system), a Unix general-pur ...
is at the centre. Compeed appears on the left sleeve. On the back of the shirt, Thatchers is at the top with Avon Protection on top of the squad number and Grant UK at the bottom. On the back of the shorts, Dyson (who is also at the centre on the front of the shirt) is on the top while on the bottom, the Bendac Group is on the left and Your Red Car is on the right.
Season summaries
Gold background denotes champions
Silver background denotes runners-up
Pink background denotes relegated
Club honours
Bath Rugby
*
English Premiership
The Premier League (legal name: The Football Association Premier League Limited) is the highest level of the men's English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Foo ...
**Champions: (6)
1988–89,
1990–91,
1991–92,
1992–93,
1993–94,
1995–96
**''Runners–Up: (2)
2003–04,
2014–15''
*
European Rugby Champions Cup
**Champions: (1)
1997–98
*
European Challenge Cup
The EPCR Challenge Cup is an annual rugby union competition organised by European Professional Club Rugby (EPCR). It is the second-tier competition for clubs based in European leagues behind the European Rugby Champions Cup. From its inception i ...
**Champions: (1)
2007–08
**''Runners–Up: (3)
2002–03,
2006–07,
2013–14''
*
Premiership Rugby Cup
The Premiership Rugby Cup is an English rugby union knockout cup competition for teams in Premiership Rugby. It was created in 2018 to replace the Anglo-Welsh Cup after the withdrawal of the Welsh regions.
History
The Premiership Rugby Cup was ...
**Champions: (10)
1983–84,
1984–85,
1985–86,
1986–87,
1988–89,
1989–90,
1991–92,
1993–94,
1994–95,
1995–96
**''Runners–Up: (2)
2004–05,
2017–18''
*
Somerset Senior Cup (tiers 4–7)
**Champions: (6) 1970–71, 1971–72, 1973–74, 1974–75, 1975–76, 1982–83
Bath United
*
Premiership Rugby Shield
The Premiership Rugby Shield was launched in 2003 as the Premiership Rugby A League. It runs parallel to the Premiership Rugby seasons. Split into north and south pools, it comprises twelve sides. The clubs select players from their academy and ...
**Champions: (1) 2013–14
Friendly
*
Middlesex Sevens The Middlesex Sevens was a Rugby Sevens tournament held annually at Twickenham stadium in London, England until 2011. It was first held in 1926, and started by Dr J.A. Russell-Cargill, a London-based Scot.Bath, ''Scotland Rugby Miscellany'', p82 Th ...
**Champions: (1) 1994
Current squad
The Bath Rugby squad for the
2022–23 season is:
Club staff
Notable former players
Lions Tourists
The following Bath players have been selected for the
Lions tours while at the club:
*
Frederick Belson (
1899)
*
Ron Rogers
Ronald Bruce Rogers (born November 5, 1952), better known as Ron Rogers or Ronnie Rogers, is a songwriter, composer, recording artist and record producer from New York City. His career spanned from the late 1970s until the 1990s.
Life and career ...
(
1904)
*
Jeremy Guscott
Jeremy Clayton Guscott (born 7 July 1965) is a British former rugby union outside centre who played for Bath, England and the British and Irish Lions. He also appeared for England on the wing.
Guscott was born in Bath, Somerset, one of the tw ...
(
1989,
1993 &
1997)
*
Gareth Chilcott (
1989)
*
Andy Robinson
Richard Andrew Robinson OBE (born 3 April 1964) is an English rugby union coach and retired player. He was the director of rugby at Bristol until November 2016. He is the former head coach of Scotland and England. From September 2019 to Dec ...
(
1989)
*
Stuart Barnes (
1993)
*
Ben Clarke
Ben Clarke (born 15 April 1968), is a former England back-row international rugby union player.
Biography
Educated at Bishop's Stortford College, Clarke played for Bath Rugby from 1992 to 1996, before joining Richmond F.C. as the first £1- ...
(
1993)
*
Andy Reed (
1993)
*
Mark Regan
Mark Regan MBE (born 28 January 1972 in Bristol) is an English former rugby union player. Nicknamed 'Ronnie', he played as a hooker for Bristol, Bath, Leeds Tykes as well as England and the British and Irish Lions.
Career
Regan's England br ...
(
1997)
*
Mike Catt
Michael John Catt OBE (born 17 September 1971) is a South African-born former rugby union player who played for the England national rugby union team. He played professionally for the clubs London Irish and Bath. He earned 75 international ca ...
(
1997 &
2001)
*
Nigel Redman
Nigel Charles Redman (born 16 August 1964) is a former professional rugby union player who played as a lock (rugby union), lock for Bath Rugby, Bath and the England national rugby union team, England national team.
Born in Cardiff, Redman left ...
(
1997)
*
Iain Balshaw
Iain Robert Balshaw, MBE (born 18 April 1979) is an English former rugby union player who played on the wing or at full back for Bath, Leeds Carnegie, Gloucester and Biarritz Olympique. He won 35 international caps for England between 2000 ...
(
2001)
*
Matt Perry (
2001)
*
Matt Stevens (
2005)
*
Danny Grewcock
Daniel Jonathan Grewcock MBE (born 7 November 1972) is an English former rugby union player who played as a lock. He played for Coventry, Saracens and Bath. He won 69 caps for England and five for the British & Irish Lions.
Early life
Grewcock ...
(
2005)
*
Lee Mears
Lee Mears (born 5 March 1979 in Torquay) is an Executive Leadership Coach. He proudly represented England playing rugby between 2004 and 2013. He earned 42 Cap played in two world cups and played for the British and Irish Lions on the 2009 tour ...
(
2009)
*
Taulupe Faletau
Tangaki Taulupe "Toby" Faletau (born 12 November 1990) is a Welsh professional rugby union player for Cardiff Rugby in the United Rugby Championship and has represented the national team for over 10 years. The back row forward played for Cr ...
(
2017 &
2021
File:2021 collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: the James Webb Space Telescope was launched in 2021; Protesters in Yangon, Myanmar following the 2021 Myanmar coup d'état, coup d'état; A civil demonstration against the October–November 2021 ...
)
*
Jonathan Joseph (
2017)
*
Anthony Watson (
2017 &
2021
File:2021 collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: the James Webb Space Telescope was launched in 2021; Protesters in Yangon, Myanmar following the 2021 Myanmar coup d'état, coup d'état; A civil demonstration against the October–November 2021 ...
)
Rugby World Cup
The following are players which have represented their countries at the
Rugby World Cup
The Rugby World Cup is a men's rugby union tournament contested every four years between the top international teams. The tournament is administered by World Rugby, the sport's international governing body. The winners are awarded the Webb E ...
, whilst playing for Bath, players in bold won the tournament:
Past club captains
Only includes players appointed club captain for the season. Individual game captains are not included.
*2019–21
Charlie Ewels
Charlie Ewels (born 29 June 1995 in Bournemouth, England) is an English professional rugby union player who plays at lock for Premiership club Bath.
Personal life
Ewels grew up in Bournemouth, attending Moordown St Johns, Bournemouth and Br ...
*2017–19
Matt Garvey
*2016–17
Guy Mercer
Guy Mercer (born 12 December 1989) is a former English rugby union player for Bath in the Aviva Premiership, who last played on loan to Welsh Pro14 side Ospreys. His position of choice was flanker.
Career
Bath
Mercer was promoted from th ...
*2011–16
Stuart Hooper
Stuart Hooper (born 18 November 1981) is the current director of rugby and former rugby union player, at Bath Rugby. He last played for Bath Rugby in the Aviva Premiership in April 2016.
Early life
Born in Exeter, Hooper played basketball a ...
*2010–11
Luke Watson
*2009–10
Michael Claassens
Michael Claassens (born 28 October 1982 in Kroonstad, Free State) is a former South African rugby union player that played professional rugby between 2003 and 2018. He made in excess of 350 senior appearances, including eight test matches for ...
*2008–09
Michael Lipman
Michael Lipman (born 16 January 1980, in London) is a retired English rugby union Flanker.
Lipman played professionally in both the United Kingdom and Australia and has also played at International level for England.
Early career in Australia ...
and
Alex Crockett
*2005–08
Steve Borthwick
*2003–05
Jonathan Humphreys
Jonathan Matthews Humphreys (born 27 February 1969) is a former Wales international rugby union player. He is now an Assistant Coach for Wales.
Rugby Union career
Playing career
Amateur career
Humphreys played for Kenfig Hill RFC and Cardif ...
*2002–03
Danny Grewcock
Daniel Jonathan Grewcock MBE (born 7 November 1972) is an English former rugby union player who played as a lock. He played for Coventry, Saracens and Bath. He won 69 caps for England and five for the British & Irish Lions.
Early life
Grewcock ...
*2001–02
Dan Lyle
Daniel Joseph Lyle (born September 28, 1970) is an American former rugby union player who played for the United States national rugby union team 45 times from 1994 to 2003, serving as U.S. captain in 24 of those matches. Lyle played number eigh ...
References
External links
*
Official Supporters WebsiteCome On My LoversBath's All Time Premiership Stats@Statbunker Premiership Rugby Official Website
{{Bath Rugby squad
Premiership Rugby teams
English rugby union teams
Rugby clubs established in 1865
Sport in Bath, Somerset
1865 establishments in England
Heineken Cup champions
Rugby union in Somerset
2010 mergers and acquisitions