Bath are in a good spot to win some silverware- Nathan Catt

For somebody who didn't start taking rugby seriously until he was 14, Nathan Catt hasn't done too bad. Working his way up through the Bath academy and representing England in U18's, U19's and U20's his progression to the Saxons seemed certain, which he gained five years ago against Portugal.

His first start for Bath came against Tigers in 2008 in the EDF Energy cup, with his first league appearance against Worcester Warriors a year later.

Growing in confidence as the season progresses the Prop is becoming more prevalent in the Bath match day squad and enjoying a lot more game time.

After his stint away with the Saxons he's geared up for some big games ahead for Bath, also with his lengthy time at Bath Catt is glad that they are back to their winning ways and deserve some silverware, and he's keen this could be the season to grab some. 

Loving life in the Bath squad I managed to catch up with him at Farleigh house for a quick chat.

It's been a great season so far Bath, the pack are becoming a force in the Premiership, what has helped make it become so much stronger this season?

It's been kind of a mixture really; the coaches laid down their foundations last year and have managed to push it through this year, backed up by some good acquisitions and the players really coming into form, making it into a solid pack and where we are now.

You've managed to work your way up through the Bath Academy who has been your biggest inspiration at the club?

That's a hard one...... I've been here quite a while now, I've had quite a few different coaches and many different senior players who have all chipped in and helped. To be fair, I couldn't just say there's been one person. There's been the likes of Haag, Hats even Flats just too many really.

While Paul James away on international duties during this season it has meant you have had a lot more game time, do you think this has helped improve your form? 

Yeah, definitely! I've obviously been second choice for a while and pick up LV games things like that, so to get a good run of regular games, even in the Premiership has given me some good confidence and a chance to show what I can actually do. 

Your form hasn't gone unnoticed as you've been called back into the Saxons, was it a big surprise to get called up again.

I wasn't expecting it to be honest, as I hadn't started too many games but was delighted! It was great to get that little game time with the Saxons. 

You represented England at U18', U19' and 20's then onto Saxons, which led to much acclaim, was it hard as a young player to take on board?

Not really, because I didn't really think about it to be honest. I just thought about what I needed to do to get even better, I didn't really think about the external factors, I just thought where am now, where do I want to go and how do I get there. You have to make it all about yourself and not listen to opinions, you take them in but you cut off and try not to take too much notice.

For a few seasons you seemed to have drifted off the international radar, how hard has it been to recapture your form and work to getting back up the English ladder? 

Yeah, to a certain degree it's been about getting game time and staying injury free. So hopefully if I can keep getting game time, be in good health and play in a pack playing as well as it is....in a team playing as well as it is, then it should stand you in good stead to get some international recognition in the future.

Between club and international training is there much difference, does it become hard training for a short time with players who you normally play against?

Kind of, You build relationships up in your club and I know most of the Bath boys inside out especially the pack. With the Saxons you meet on the Monday and played  on the Saturday; so you have to quickly get to know people find out how they work, figure out what's going to work best for the team when put together in that short time period, to get enough information through but not to overload us and we end up running around like headless chickens.

Who has been the hardest player you've had to prop up against?

Hard one, Dan Cole is good on his day, yeah probably Dan Cole.

In your time at Bath what has been your most memorable moment? 

Hard to say, unfortunately I've not won any cups since I've been playing. Probably games against Leicester are always good.

Is there any team in particular that you look forward to playing and hope you get selected to play against? 

Yeah!! Any local derby like Gloucester or Exeter and the Leicester games also.

When it's announced that players are leaving, what is the general feeling within the squad?

That's quite difficult really. Because obviously some players are in and out and then other players like Claasens for example, have been there for ages and are a real core of the squad. It just depends really, I suppose it's just the way of the game now, people leave for whatever reason and you just have to get on with it.

This coming weekend Bath are taking on Exeter, with the 36 year unbeaten record against them does it ever play a part in how you look at the game or do you just treat it like just another game?

Well the records there, it always gets mentioned by both sides, it's also a local derby so it's not really just a normal game so both teams will really be out to win this one. It's obviously an important game for either team, so it does always add that little bit of spice. We've got quite a few games against them this season so we need to keep the record rolling.

With the majority of the Players on twitter, have you never been tempted or doesn't it interest you? 

To be fair, the main reason I'm not is I'm quite mischievous and have a dark sense of humour, with players like Ross Batty if I got into a bit of banter with him I'd probably say something that may get me in trouble with the club, so to be safe I try stay away from it. With Ross being a Geordie he's normally hard to understand, if you go out for a drink with him and Davey (Wilson) they become even more and more Geordie until you can hardly understand a word they say!

What would you want to see from the club this season, what do believe they can actually achieve from them this year?

As I mentioned earlier, I've been here a long time now and haven't won anything, so I'm desperate to win something. Bath want some silverware and we're in a good spot to win something, 3rd in the Premiership, a home 1/4 in the Amlin and a Home Semi in the LV this could be the season to do it. Obviously the Prem is the first prize, but the LV and Amlin definitely look good, we need to keep on pushing and hopefully pick something up.

The 'A' league was a good start, unfortunately as it was Franklins Gardens we couldn't travel with the team, it would of been great to be there and celebrate with the team, but getting back at 12 and having training the next day we couldn't go, it would of been a great little day out for the whole squad.

As a squad you do all have time outside of rugby together and seem to have a good bond between you all.

It's important we all get together, go and have a little laugh and joke together outside of rugby, choosing to do it not just being put together. Building bonds and spend time with your mates which is another thing that's making us as more of a complete team this season.

A big thanks to Nathan, let's hope Bath keep to their winning ways and keep the Cheifs record alive this weekend!

#AllezBath

Caught between a rock and a hard place!

The dust is starting to settle slightly from the eruption that happened at Bath Rugby on Monday. When the news broke that Gary Gold and Bath had parted company; the fans, the press and everybody in English rugby went into meltdown.

Disbelief, anger, confusion filled the internet, and the most asked question was 'why?'
A question Bath were unable to answer, and as lack of answers followed so did the anger and speculation. Driven by the growing pressure to speak out Bath released their statement.

“Bath Rugby can today confirm that Gary Gold has left the club with immediate effect.

“The decision was taken following a restructure in the rugby department and with the best interests of both Gary and the club in mind.

“No further comment will be made until it is appropriate.”

A statement that was surely the work of Bath's legal team, leading to further speculation and a sence things hadn't finished to amicably.
We can speculate and guess at the reasons for the untimely departure but we just don't have the information and with the back up tweet from Bath it seems their hands are legally bound.

"@bathrugby: We know today's news was big, but we have said all we are currently permitted to say. If we can tell you more soon, we promise we will."

From this it seems that Bath are "caught between a rock and a hard place".
They have received a barrage of Tweets, Facebook messages etc. demanding answers, yet they can't!!

How could Bath get it so wrong? Because no matter how you weigh this it was a catrascophic PR disaster.
As the news was leaked Bath had to rush a statement, but why were they already not prepared for the chance this could happen?
For some reason Bath leaks information like somebody has left the plug out (sorry terrible pun); for example players linked with the club, then denied leading to them actually signing. With this knowledge surely a contingency plan surely needed to be put into action.
Even as the supporters had their backs up another rumour began to speculate; Steve McNamara the England Rugby League coach was coming to join Bath as skills/attack coach, more perfect timing!

Bath has suffered some serious bad PR in the past; drugs, punches and even previous parting of coaching staff members, yet Bath seems not to of learnt from these episodes. Unfortunately due to this a top class professional rugby club is starting to look very poorly run.

Gary Gold was a big favourite with the supporters and a big loss in our eyes. He put himself out there and happily interacted with the fans helping to build the #BathFamily.
I was lucky enough to visit him at Farlirgh and he showed me the aims and targets he had for Bath, a truly knowledgeable and passionate human being.
After his departure the fact that he even made the effort to Direct Message the fans thanking them for their support, indicating what the club and its supporters meant to him.
A huge shame that at the end of his tenure we as fans didn't have the chance to bid him a proper fair well with a round of applause at the Rec.

All in all we are passionate about the club, this shows in the attendances at home games, but a little faith has been knocked and I for one hope Bath can work to regain it.

Rugby world cup ticket prices

The excitement for the Rugby world cup coming to England is starting to grow with less than two years until kick off. Today saw the full schedule and ticket pricing being released for the Rugby World cup 2015, coming with some interesting results.

High ticket prices had been expected, but I feel many rugby fans hadn't quite realised the full extent of what faced them.
Mainly what it will cost to be an English rugby fan and to follow and support them at live games.

There is a large spectrum of price ranges through the group stages. Broken down into four categories; A,B,C and D.
Class D being the cheapest and A being the most expensive. There are a few fixtures running with category D tickets for £15 for an adult and £7 for a child, a category A in the same fixture will cost £60. Great pricing and will enable more fans to go to visit some of the lesser teams play and create a good atmosphere in which some of thw teams nay not of played in.

In an opposite pole of this other fixtures featuring the "big name's" in rugby certainly are priced differently. A prime example is France v Italy at the millennium stadium where a category D is £50 and category A £250.
It is England (the home nation) that will cost the most to watch in the group stages. Starting prices at Twickenham are £75 then raising up to £315!!!!

The biggest shock comes with the tickets to the semi-finals and final; category D £150 and category A £715 with no concessions at all.

So why are the English fans being hit so hard and are the everyday fan being priced out of the bigger matches? Is the greatest spectacle in the rugby world being overrun by corporate side of rugby?

What's your view?
Are the cost of rugby world cup tickets out pricing fans?
https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/QVY5X5W

Monday night lights

In and around the Aviva Premiership there are many tournaments in which the teams take part in. There is the league itself but tournaments such as the Heineken cup, Amlin challenge cup, LV=Cup also the JP Morgans 7's tournament . But a tournament growing pace now is the Aviva 'A' league, in which popularity is growing amongst the supporters.

The popularity of "Monday night lights" is ever growing. Many spectators making the away journeys as well as making sure they see the home fixtures. 
The clubs themselves are publicising the fixtures more, giving match updates on Twitter for those who have not made the journey or are unable to make the game. Bath rugby even went through a stage of live streaming the home matches on Facebook.

For any rugby fan the 'A' league is a great place to learn more about your adopted club and also opposing clubs. With a mixture of academy, returning injured players or just squad members needing more game time the 'A' league boasts them all. The standard of rugby for the 'A' league is really of a high standard, the players are out to prove their abilities to the coaching staff and potentially stake a claim for a first XV place. There's an edge of rawness about the play, as I had it described to me " they get to play instinctive rugby rather than a procession of pre-planned moves".

With the 'A' league running along side the premiership you have all 12 teams represented in the league, then it is split into two separate divisions of Northern Conference and southern Conference. The  semi finals are then held between the top placed team of one sub division against the runner up of the other, with first place drawing the home fixture. 

The Northern Conference consists of - Northampton Wanderers, Sale Jets, Leicester Tigers, Gloucester United, Newcastle Falcons and Worcester Cavaliers.

The Southern Conference contains the other six teams - Exeter Braves, Bath United, London Irish, London Wasps, Harlequins and Saracens Storm.

At the end of the the league stages the Northern Conference finished with Northampton topping the table and Sale as runners up, the Southern Conference was topped by Bath and Harlequins taking second place. The semi finals are now set to take place on Monday the 25th of November - Northampton Wanderers v Harlequins at Franklins gardens and Bath United v Sale Jets at the Recreation Ground.

As a Bath fan I've visited many Monday nights at the Rec, with free entry, food and the bar being open it adds to the enjoyment of a true rugby evening, just sit back and enjoy some great rugby!

This season Bath United have put a good campaign together and had a great run in the league, winning 4/5 games, scoring 189 points with 24 tries, conceding 84 points. Their only loss came at the hands of Exeter Braves at the Rec with Braves scoring a last minute try winning the game 27-32.

Bath have put a lot into their United team, coached by the Academy Director of Rugby Ex-Bath, England and Lions legend Danny Grewcock and fielding some top players who could walk into many first teams. This season we've been shown the talents of Biggs, Agulla, Henson, Gilbert and Heathcote to name just a few. Captained by local boy Kane Palma-Newport the team has performed well and show some flashes of skill that the first XV would be proud of.

Within the 'A' league new discoveries can be made and a special note for Bath definitely goes to Saeed Agboke who showed with his brace of tries against Braves great pace and tenacity, definitely one for the future.

 

All pictures courtesy of  Ian, TakingPictures-Sport.co.uk @uksportingspics

Gumbie

Earlier this week I managed to meet up with Bath back row player Mat Gilbert. Fresh from a convincing victory against Saracens Storm the night before we caught up in one of his locals (it's ok Mr Gold he was drinking coke).

Mat has had an interesting career so far, Hartpury college and playing in Gloucester 'A' team, 2 stints in Italy, Llanelli and Scarlets and now residing at Bath Rugby. Mat was very open and honest with his answers as he explains things haven't totally gone to plan at times in his career.

Congratulations on another great performance last night, another win and again another try!

It's just being in the right place at the right time!!

You're playing some great rugby at the moment and with every game having a solid performance, doing your job and grabbing a few tries. How are you enjoying your rugby at Bath?

The tries I've scored this season have come off of driving from the lineout, a big team effort a big forwards effort. And obviously I'm just lucky enough to be the one who gets the ball down.
Tom Dunn got one last night and Anthony Perenise got one against Falcons, it's just a great forwards effort and everyone knows that in the team.
All if the supporters and press see it as 'Mat Gilbert try' but amongst the player's and coaching staff see it as a forwards performance.
I love Bath, it's a really good club. I came from Scarlets so I'm used to a big club, with a lot of tradition and expectations.
There's a really good group of guys and good coaching and management set up, yeah it's a really good club to be at.

There's a great depth in back row players for Bath this season is the completion to get a place tough between the players?

Yeah massively! You look at François Louw who's probably one of the greatest open sides in the world, Fearsy fit, Matt Garvey has joined the club and made a huge impact, and also Leroy (Houston) as well. So fortunately every at the moment is on top form which pushes everyone else and everyone pushes each other, so we're lucky enough to be able to create that environment where we can push ourselves to be the best we can be to get selected.

You're becoming a favourite with the fans and many are championing you for more first team starts, does the fan support drive you on towards gaining more first XV appearances?

Fans are very important for the club, yeah it's nice to have support on Twitter and I do try my hardest to respond to as many as I can. It's the same as when I was in Wales, I tried to keep a good dialogue with the fans, I think it's important because really they're ultimately the one's paying our wages.
I do try my best to engage with people, I suppose it's the way I am and the way I've been brought up.

You're very proud of you Hartpury roots, with such success in rugby it's not surprising, was Hartpury the driving force behind you wanting to be a professional player?

Yeah massively! I went to a military school in Dover, as my father was in the army. I played through under 7's up to under 18's and county rugby, when I went to Uni I loved my rugby but didn't think of it as a career.
I applied to go to UWE, they looked at my CV and thought it better if I went to Hartpury. I turned up at Hartpury and the wealth of talent was phenomenal. In the first year I played for the club on Saturdays in the Gloucester premier league. With players like Dan Norton, you look at the Gloucester back line with Trinder, May, Sharples they all come from Hartpury.

The season after you moved on to Aghero you became top try scorer, for a back row that's pretty good going, was the lure to come back to Britain for a bigger challenge with Llanelli an easy choice?

I didn't realise I was the top try scorer, had no idea of that just scored a few. That was a great year in Aghero in Sardinia, I'd just left uni and didn't have any direction in life I didn't really know what I wanted to do. I didn't want to go to work but then this offer came up to play in Italy, the offer also came up with another lad from uni. It was challenging, the level wasn't great but we had a great time. Aghero is a lovely place and the other international player there I'd played with at academy level, so I knew him, so the three of us had a good laugh and just passed the ball between us. The rugby wasn't great but it really was a lovely place to live.
It got me away, after four years in Gloucester and owning a house there it was very difficult to leave. With being a Hartpury for four years  I thought 'right I've got to leave Hartpury now'. Because I had the tie of the house  I found it difficult to accept offers from championship sides, I didn't want to go and rent a house somewhere else, going to Italy helped me to break all ties.

With Llanelli you progressed to playing for Scarlets and even got to play in the Heineken cup, you received much acclaim there, what led to you leaving and heading back to Italy?

I had no choice. It was not through my choice to leave.
They ended up with a shortage of second rows, Dom (Day) obviously left everyone seemed to desert them from the second row. My contract hadn't been renewed, it had been agreed in principal but hadn't been signed, and with a loaded back row and shortage of second rows they needed the money to buy more second row players.
Unfortunately it left me without a club, I wanted to stay in Wales. I did everything I could to stay with Llanelli, but you can't help with budgeting and I had no part in their bigger picture.

You originally came to Bath from Mogliano as injury cover, before securing a full contract. I understand you weren't entirely happy at mogliano and with the Amlin Challenge cup fixtures coming up how will it feel playing against them?

In regards to the time scale and what happened with Scarletts I wasn't left with a great deal of choice, most clubs had done their recruiting. I had a few options of a couple of championship sides or go to Mogliano. I did a bit research and previous players were saying it's a great club, they were in the Amlin cup and saw it ad a bit of a window. I didn't think the standard wouldn't be great but if I put in some good performances there could be a route back to the Rabo or even the premiership, so my sole focus was to perform well in the Amlin and try to to get back to a decent standard again.
My levels if expectations of Mogliano were too high, coming from a highly professional club like Scarletts then going to a fairly basic almost amateur setup made me realise it wasn't what I wanted and wasn't going to make my career.
After say six games, two of which were Amlin, I had a discussion with the club and mutually agreed to terminate my contract. It was easier to come home and find a club, your much more appealing as a free agent.
I preferred my time in Aghero over Mogliano but I did get on with the guys, my main problem was with the coaching structure and the way then went about coaching, not the personalities. So when they come over I'll be able to have a little dialogue with them in my basic Italian. It won't be difficult to play them, I'm in a much happier place now. It was interesting when they got pulled out to play us in the Amlin and I realised we would play and it's a good chance to stick two fingers up as we beat them.
No to be honest I'd much rather play against Scarletts would be better rivalry and competition.

You've also represented the English deaf rugby team and Barbarians, I'm pretty sure the dream is there to manage to reach the EPS team and play at Twickenham again.

Every boys dream!!
I've always said 'If you don't aspire to play for your country then you shouldn't be playing at all.' every boys dreams of playing for their country no matter what the sport, how high I'm off that I don't know but obviously it would be fantastic.

Being a deaf top flight rugby player you are often called an 'inspiration' and many look up to to you, do you treat it as normality and at times frustrating that your always referred to as 'Mat Gilbert the deaf rugby player' rather than just 'Mat Gilbert the rugby player'?

Yeah some times, I've done interviews before where it's been 'your deaf this, your deaf that'! You know but basically I'm the same as everyone else in this game, I haven't got here because I'm deaf, in fairness it's probably been harder to get here. Yeah basically I'm Mat Gilbert the rugby player who happens to be deaf not Mat Gilbert the deaf rugby player. It's something that's always going to be with me, it's part of me but it doesn't define me.

We are all aware of the huge amount of banter that goes around the club, but you seem to be caught up in quite a bit of it. Two points in this are-
1) what's the deal with you and Dom Day over the towels???

Well it doesn't happen often here but when were playing together in Wales basically every day my towel was wet, it probably wasn't always Dom, but it's happened a few times here and I change next to Dom so I blame him. It's not the end of the world I can live with a wet towel.

2) a lovely picture was released on Twitter from Micky Young, will you be looking to get any payback?

That machine is designed to stretch your back out, so you lock you feet in and it tips you upside down. I was wary of there being a few people around, it happens to a few people you're tipped upside down and but for me the culprit took it to the next level, took my shorts down attached them to the foot holding and left me stranded. It's just some good humour but it terms if payback we'll have to see, but I've been at the club long enough to know not to hang upside down when there's too many people around.

You are seeming pretty settled around the area, especially even turning out for a game of cricket at Hinton Charterhouse, are you seeing a long turn stay in and around Bath?

Yeah we're in the middle of buying a house in Bath. I've got a two year contract now and hopefully I can push on and prove my worth to the club then with luck that can get renewed.
We love the city, my brother lives in Bristol, Fiona's parents live in Salisbury, her brother lives in Gloucester and all my old Hartbury friends are around the area so it's a great base to make.
Even if things don't work out and I have to move on it's great to have a house in the city and it's very beneficial to us.
I love living in the village at the moment, all the guys have been really supportive. Just popping up to the post office and having a chat it's great.

What do you see the full potential for Bath over the next few seasons are?

The management team have done a great job in recruitment this year, they've done a lot of hard work and some structural things have been put in place. Ultimately the club wants to push on, driving and pushing on with what we've got. Where the club goes...who Knows, obviously other clubs are progressing as well. You look at clubs like London Irish bringing in James O'Connor, the players are coming in. It won't get any easier we just have to make sure we can do is to be in the best possible position to compete, which Bruce, Gary and Mike are trying to do.

You're performing great with the United team playing in the 'A' league, finishing top of the table shows there's more commitment towards it this season.

This season there's a really good vibe about the club, people want to play rugby.
When I was at Hartpury playing in the Gloucester 'A' team it wasn't very good. They had a few university guys playing, a few old boys but the full time professionals weren't interested, they just didn't want to bother with the Monday night's.
Now it's a case of the boys wanting to play, wanting to perform. You look at the team that was put out last night, international players not going out there thinking 'why the hell am I playing on a Monday night?' everybody is buying in to it, you've got to get as much game time.

Its been brilliant talking to you and hopefully you'll get Gloucester in the next round of the 'A' league, I understand their game is next Monday.

Yeah hopefully a few Hartpury boys will be out! Cheers thank you.

 

 pictures courtesy of Chris Clemence. @Chris_Clemence

Could Bath be moving in the right direction

This season seems to be one of the most open campaigns, as the majority of teams have the ability to beat each other.

A possible exception to that would be Saracens and Saints who just appear to be that next level above. With the fixture between both sides at the weekend and Saints managed to even make Sarries look ordinary. It was a total masterclass on what the other premiership teams are aiming to reach.
When you weigh up the teams from third to eleventh in the league they all be playing on an almost a level playing field. But sitting at the top of that tree of teams is Bath Rugby, and things do look to be moving in a positive direction.

Six rounds of the Aviva premiership have passed now and Bath are sitting third behind Saracens and Saints winning four from six, one of the two losses coming from the top of the table Sarries.
Many Bath fans will say with the team selection against Sarries they went to Allianz Park with the belief they would not win, almost damage limitation, saving players for the following fixture against London Irish and gain a full five points. The second half against Sarries was a strong performance but sadly the damage was already done.
The other loss came at the hands of Sale Sharks, a victory orchestrated by a very in form Danny Cipriani.
Both losses came on the road whereas the home form has been impeccable with victories over Tiger's, Irish and the latest triumph in the local Derby against Gloucester.

The Gloucester tie is a big game in any Bath fan's calendar, and to take the spoils brings big smiles with extra bragging rights.
There was plenty to take from the Gloucester game, such dominance from the forwards although not completely reflected on the score board. Regardless of views of performance, decisions and how the game went Bath won which is the importance of such a fixture.

A huge positive note with Bath is the immense depth in the squad, this has become evident when it comes to Aviva 'A' League. The starting XV to take on Saracens Storm in the 'A' league is littered with players ultimately who could walk into the first XV.
15. Nick Abendanon
14. Richard Lane
13. Horacio Agulla
12. Ollie Devoto
11. Tom Biggs
10. Gavin Henson
9. Chris Cook
1. Charlie Beech
2. Tom Dunn
3. Kane Palma-Newport ( c )
4. Will Spencer
5. Ryan Caldwell
6. Tom Ellis
7. Mat Gilbert
8. Will Skuse
A seriously strong looking 'second' string team.

With one away win under their belt in the premiership which came on a damp evening in Newcastle on the opening weekend of the season, with round seven comes a trip to Sixways against Worcester Warriors, can they grab their second victory on the road?
With Warriors struggling at the bottom of the table holding only two points, a victory looks like they're in with a very good chance, although nothing should ever be taken for granted.
A win with a try scoring bonus point will help to keep Bath in third spot while taking the  a breather in the premiership for the LV=Cup, leaving Bath in a good position and a good platform to build for the rest of the season.

Ok let's possibly not get too over excited, but from the signs so far a top four position isn't a too much to hope for from the Bath fan's, to become champions is a little too big a step but they're definitely taking strides in the right direction.

Ross Batty- Rugby, KO's and the Beard!

After a few season at Bath rugby now Ross Batty is now really starting to develop himself into the squad and becoming a regular in the first team.

Formally of Newcastle Falcons and Rotherham he joined the ranks at Bath in 2010, when then forwards coach Martin Haag showed faith in him after getting to know Batty when he was coaching the England U18's side in which Batty featured.

Photo courtesy of http://www.onsideimages.com/

I was lucky enough to grab a few words with Ross earlier this week before Bath start their European campaign this weekend against Bordeaux. I managed to discuss his early days from school to Newcastle Falcons and about his KO against Tigers. 

Starting off your career with Newcastle Falcons working your way through the ranks from the academy, then moving on to Rotherham, how did it feel to get back into the Premiership with Bath? 

Brilliant, fantastic, it was a great chance to sign for a big club. I really enjoyed my time at Rotherham. It was great to play in a tough league, championship rugby week in week out and to be part of a team and then to move to Bath was a fantastic opportunity. 

Training alongside side such players as Lee Mears and Rob Webber has this helped with your development? 

Mearsy spent a lot of time with me and it was absolutely incredible, always there and always willing to help me out, he's that type if guy who wants you to do well. He put a lot of faith in me, giving me plenty of tips. He's got a wealth of knowledge and an incredible CV, he's been there done that and done everything you could possibly want to do in the game, somebody you'd really like to learn from. 

What was it that made you make the change from Prop to Hooker?

I started out playing in the back row, but moved into the front row. With my build I was not really going to be one of the big guy props like Davey Wilson, with my back row experience hooker was the right choice a mix between prop and back row. There's so much more to think about as hooker, with the line outs, scrums and still getting about the pitch to the break down, a really enjoyable challenge. 

You went to Bernard castle school, which is well known for its sport especially Rugby, is that where you found your passion? 

I suppose yeah it did come from there, well definitely helped it. It was a great school and had a really good set up, they were definitely there to encourage you and help drive you on. Definitely a big part of my game and love of the game.

How has is it been linking up with some of your ex-Falcons team mates at Bath. 

In the rugby world everybody knows each other as you play against each other and get to know the guys from other teams. But moving club and meeting up with fellow team mates can help, linking up with Davey Wilson again as we were in the academy together and now Micky Young has signed there's a few old familiar faces.

While you were at Falcons you were part of their Middlesex Sevens winning team, did you find that beneficial to your game play?

Sevens is a tough game, but is really helpful with adding extra to your game. Due to my old back row play I was ok at getting around the field and it helps sharpen up your awareness and skills which you can move into your normal game. It's great fun to play a good learning tool but also really hard work.

How was it to get back to play at Kingston park for the first game of the season and win so well, in Newcastle's individual weather system?

Ha yeah it certainly is an 'individual' form of weather up there! A Friday night, under the lights and in that rain it was going to be a tough game. So glad the way we played and how well we dealt with the 'washing machine' weather. To take any win there is hard work with such a strong crowd, a great way to start the season.

Watching it on TV I was certainly glad I wasn't playing in that.

Yeah certainly was fun, you definitely had the right idea staying at home watching it, some of us weren't that lucky hahahaha.

During the Tigers match you unfortunately got knocked unconscious. The silence around the ground showed great respect and obviously a lot of concern, it's never nice to see a player in that situation. How much of that day can you remember?

Not a lot to be honest! I can remember going in for a tackle and then about four hours later. Apparently my girlfriend was sat beside me at the hospital and I looked at her several times as though I didn't know her. I've been told by many of the guys that I was out for a while but really don't know much about it. 

The messages of support and get well soon I received on Twitter from the players and the fans was amazing, it really showed a great sense of family that surrounds the club which is what makes it so special to be apart of it.

Twitter is really good for us fans as we are able to communicate with you guys and get an insight the the club, especially the banter that goes on.

The banter between the boys is brilliant, they're a great set of guys and it's a pleasure to play with them. Because of the banter and enjoyment it makes it a pleasure to go to work in the morning knowing your going to have a good laugh with some of your mates.

On the note of banter lets get onto the beard!!! How much ribbing do you get? 

(Laughs) yeah I do get a lot of stick about it, with plenty of nicknames to go with it one being tramp! But to be honest I don't think it'll be around for too much longer as the girl friend really isn't a fan, and at times you need to keep them happy.

But the beard is almost becoming synonymous with you like Biggs and his hair.

Haahaa I don't think I've quite hit the heights of Biggsy's hair but thanks! I'll see how it goes but don't think it will last too long.

Thanks for taking the time out to speak to me, do you think you'll feature on Saturday against Bordeaux?

Been a pleasure and yeah I'll get a good run out it should be a great game, the French clubs are always tough so we'll have to be at our best.

A big thanks to Ross for taking time out to talk to me and hopefully the beard can stay and he can carry on looking like Bath's ginger version of Chabal! Good luck at the weekend and let's hope the Bath European campaign can't start with a good win and continue through the rest of the competition.

Allez Bath!!