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So What Made You Support Bath Rugby? Part Two
By Glen Leat
June 16 2009
ERE as a website has been in existence since 2000 and as a concept since 1991 and over the years I’ve got to know many people whom otherwise I wouldn’t have met. We meet, we chat but for most I don’t know why or how they came to support Bath Rugby and I thought now was the time to address this.
I looked through my e-mail address book and sent out a list of questions. Here is the second series of replies from my ERE friends. I'd like to hear from many others so, if you want to supply me with your responses to the questions please e-mail me at glenleat@btinternet.com.

I've met Smiley Neil on several occasions and yes, he does always have a smile on his face.

When did you first start supporting Bath Rugby?
Somewhere in 1982, having moved to Bath itself in 1981. I certainly recall watching Bath for a season or two before going to senior school in 1983.

What made you a supporter?
My dad played rugby in his youth and, living just around the corner from Bramley Road ground in Cockfosters, used to watch Saracens play regularly. When we moved to the West Country in the early 70s he would watch local teams, first Yatton and then Bradford-on-Avon so when we moved to Bath in 1981 he continued watching his local team, Bath. I used to play on the living-room floor whilst he shouted at 5-Nations matches during my infancy so had grown up with rugby around me and took an immediate interest in Bath.

Can you remember anything about the first game you ever saw at the Rec?
I don't recall it at all, I would have been about 9 or 10 at the time and can't even recall if my dad asked whether I wanted to go or simply took me. I remember it being about 50p to get into the ground and we would arrive early so that we could stand at the front and I would be able to see. We tried a few different positions around the ground but quickly preferred standing in front of the clubhouse and I'm still standing in pretty much the same position nowadays, albeit a few feet higher and further forwards than before.

What has been your best moment as a supporter of Bath Rugby?
I have so many great memories of matches, tournaments, trophies and players but the European Cup win in Bordeaux has to be the most amazing single moment of ecstasy in my life and I say that as a happily married man with two beautiful daughters. Those occasions were wonderful but for the single moment it has to be second the final whistle went and the players charged down the pitch to stand a few metres in front of me, (I was in the third row) as we simply yelled in delight at each other. I'll never forget the tears running down Dan Lyle's face.

What has been your worst moment as a supporter of Bath Rugby?
Fortunately I have more good memories than bad of Bath but two matches and a long running saga stick out. The matches were awful lows not for who we lost to but for the abysmal, inept performances by our players. One was the cup final loss to a Leeds side whose best attacking players were injured in the first half and who only had one plan to beat us but sadly that was one plan more than we had for beating them. The other was the 2003 home loss against Bristol, who were themselves inept and were relegated but I've never seen a more gutless performance from a Bath side than on that day. As for the long running saga, it's embarrassing that we still have such an antiquated ground whilst places such as The Stoop have changed beyond recognition in my time of going there.

Who do you regard as the best player of all time for Bath?
How can you compare Jerry Guscott with Graham Dawe? John Hall with Tony Swift? Andy Robinson with Stuart Barnes? Or Gareth Chilcott with Richard Hill? I argue over a best XV knowing that there would be some great players in the second and third XVs. We've been blessed with seeing some fantastic athletes over the years. Well, plus some great props!

Which players from the Golden Decade do you think would be a success in the modern game?
All of them would be quite capable of succeeding in the modern game, they were skillful enough and fit enough. The main difference for them would be giving up the day jobs to focus on more training, so perhaps Stuart Barnes might have struggled with that aspect!

Which opposition player (from any era) would you like to have moved to Bath and why?
I'd love to have seen more of Jason Robinson playing for Bath. He never seemed to do too much against us but I'll not easily forget the way that he tore through a quality Swansea team in his debut.

How confident are you that Bath Rugby will be at the Rec in five years time?
I'm pretty confident we'll still be at the Rec' in ten years time though whether our ground looks any different is another matter. As the club have been at The Rec' for longer than anyone living around it has been alive I still believe that common sense will eventually prevail and we'll be allowed to improve the facilities, though again I'm not confident that it will be as large as we require.

If another site in Bath becomes available and is suitable for a 15,000 capacity stadium, (and I'd like to continue standing, rather than sitting!) then we should investigate it. I'd be upset if the club ever moved to another town.

Describe what Bath Rugby means to you in three words.
Lifelong sporting love.

Optimist, a man who doesn't always display the traits of his board name but loves his adopted City and favourite sporting team.

When did you first start supporting Bath Rugby?

The day I moved to Bath in November 1996.

What made you a supporter?

Have always loved playing rugby, but had never really followed the club game - I was one of those people who watched the Internationals but very little else, and, living in London, had never grown up identifying with or supporting any specific local team. In fact I'd only ever been to one club game before - that was Rosslyn Park vs Harlequins. But when I came to Bath, it was the perfect opportunity to support and identify with the local team. Not to mention the fact that not long after I moved here, I watched at the Clubhouse, Bath winning the Heineken Cup. But it is the Rec that makes it for me as much as anything - I'd happily go and watch 3rd division rugby there, have a couple of beers with friends while my kids play on the pitch after the match. If I arrived in Bath now, and there was a team called Bath Rugby playing at a big, modern stadium in Keynsham, I doubt I'd go to more than 2 or 3 matches a year.

Can you remember anything about the first game you ever saw at the Rec?

Actually, it was a couple of years before I moved to Bath and it wasn't a Bath match - I saw Canada play England 'A' at the Rec. But can't for the life of me remember my first live Bath match there. I do remember watching the Heineken Cup final at the clubhouse, and also going down to Victoria Park to see the players parade the trophy.

What has been your best moment as a supporter of Bath Rugby?

Strangely, it was the day we avoided relegation - the whole gamut of emotions of that match against London Irish, Gareth Cooper (who I always rated) breaking away, and then Elvis having the gall to carry the ball over the line in one hand for one of the most important tries in the history of the club. The atmosphere was unbelievable.

What has been your worst moment as a supporter of Bath Rugby?

Can't say it's one moment, but the ongoing uncertainty over the Rec and the sheer frustration of knowing that such a massive majority of Bathonians want a first-class arena on the Rec, are proud of the fact that such a small City is home to such a fantastic club, and find the whole situation incomprehensible - that would have to top my list of 'worst moments'.

Who do you regard as the best player of all time for Bath?

Jeremy Guscott, though I hardly saw him play for Bath. Possibly the best England back of all time - might have scored 50 tries for England if it hadn't been for Rob Andrew's boot. The most graceful athlete I've ever seen on a rugby pitch. The player I've most enjoyed watching for Bath since becoming a season ticket holder in 2000, has been Butch James who has a physique and turn of pace a bit like a lock forward from the 1970s, but has the hands and imagination of a magician.

Which players from the Golden Decade do you think would be a success in the modern game?

Any or all of them. The basic attributes of a rugby player haven't changed, it's just that the modern players have the opportunity to develop all of their skills and fitness. It's still essentially a game for all shapes and sizes - albeit those shapes and sizes have been honed and fine-tuned within an inch of their lives. If you had the athleticism, co-ordination and attitude to reach the top of your chosen sport then, you'd be able to do it now. It's complete tosh to think that players from one era were either better or worse - though I'd concede that there were some players from the amateur era who just wouldn't be interested in pumping iron all day, and also that, if you're not willing to put the tackles in these days, you won't get picked.

Which opposition player (from any era) would you like to have moved to Bath and why?

Richie McCaw would make a difference to any rugby team in any era - but he'd certainly make the difference for Bath now.

How confident are you that Bath Rugby will be at the Rec in five years time?

100% confident.

Describe what Bath Rugby means to you in three words.
Pride. Enjoyment. Beer.

 

And finally it's that well known Eastender (but no the TV sort)....Phil Mitchell

I first started supporting Bath Rugby approximately 20 years ago.

I had lived in Bath for a long time as a child, when my father's army postings meant the family stayed with my grandmother and father.  My youngest brother was born there and we both see Bath as home, and being avid rugby supporters, there was only one club team to follow.

The first game I saw was in the amateur days, against Nottingham I think, and one of the opposition forwards had received a whack in the face from Coochie I believe, and at the next line out a wag in the crowd shouted, in a very West Country accent, "Oy you, number eight, how's your eye you ugly bast**d".

The best moment-well from a match I was at, probably Barnesy's last second drop goal to beat Quins in the Cup final at Twickenham.

The worst moment-I suppose it would be when I thought London Irish had sent us down before  the Elvis try that saved our bacon.

The players from the Golden decade-definitely Jerry Guscott-sheer class is timeless, Dawesy and Spurrell for sheer grit and aggression, and never say die attitude, and Jon Webb for his ice cool kicking.

The opposition player from any era-Dean Richards, as a great shambling talisman with the ability always to be in the right place at the right time.

Will we be at the Rec' in five years? Very much a resounding yes.

What does Bath Rugby mean to me?  It's my world.

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