By Glen Leat
August 17 2002

After what seems like a very long wait the Bath Rugby Management Team finally announced its new skipper for the forthcoming season in the somewhat surprising shape of Danny Grewcock, taking over from the former US Eagles skipper Dan Lyle.

Danny Grewcock, who has won 33 caps for England and three for the British Lions, is regarded as a top player in world rugby and will act as a figurehead for the club both on and off the field, however he would not have been on the shortlist of many of the supporters, mainly perhaps because last season he did not strike to many of us watching Bath play as an automatic leader. Clearly Jack Rowell and Michael Foley have seen something in Grewcock during the off season to persuade them that he is the man to take Bath forward in their challenge to enjoy better days than they did last season.

In a recent poll to see who should be the new Bath skipper Grewcock was not included on the shortlist because he was not even considered to be on the fringes of the captaincy race; if anyone was going to get the job many of us assumed it would be Grewcock's younger colleague Steve Borthwick who would be Foley's choice.

Question: Who should be Bath skipper next season? Dan Lyle 7% Steve Borthwick 38% Matt Perry 12% Mike Catt 16% Jonathan Humphries 17% A N Other 10%

Grewcock did not have the best of seasons for Bath last year (but then who did?) and it is perhaps unfair to make any judgements of his likely success at Bath this season but he is known to be a bit hot headed at times and does not appear to have enjoyed a starring role as a Mr Motivator impersonator on the field for Saracens, Bath and England so it will be interesting to see how he gets on in his new role. Michael Foley has no doubts however, “Danny is a person we feel demonstrates the right approach both on and off the field of play to lead the team into the forthcoming season. His preparation and mindset as a professional is second to none and provides a shining example for our whole club to aspire to.”

Perhaps the real captain on the field will be Mike Catt but he didn't get the job because of fears that the formal responsibility will detract from his performances and at present Bath need an in-form Catty if they are to make any progress this year. This view may have been supported by coach Foley when he said, “All teams have a group of leaders and it is important that the announcement of a captain does not detract from all players contributing and staying involved."

In response to his new role Grewcock said yesterday, “I am very much looking forward to the challenge ahead. I will be acting as part of a leadership team, with Dan Lyle and Mike Catt as vice captains on the pitch. It would be a waste not to utilise such experience and tactical knowledge – we really need to make use of everyone’s strengths. I’ve had a chat with Dan about the captaincy role too, and he has been very supportive. In terms of what Bath can achieve this season, we’re definitely looking at a vast improvement from last year. Everybody has trained incredibly hard during the pre-season, and we have a fantastic coaching set-up in place who are in tune with what the players want and what the players need. We are much better prepared, both as individuals and as a team."

Whether the supporters would have chosen Danny Grewcock as the Bath captain is now unimportant, but what we need is a skipper who will push our team to the very limits of their ability so that at last we can have something to show for the 2002/03 season. In addition to speaking to Dan Lyle about the captaincy role, Grewcock would do well to seek the views of former Bath skippers such as Phil de Glanville and Stuart Barnes as they are proven winners who understand the legacy of captaining Bath.

Come on Danny, come on Bath!!!!!!!!