Bath players are considering rejecting the club’s request to cut their salaries by 25 percent during the coronavirus shutdown to help the long term financial stability of the organisation according to the latest reports.
The Blue, Black and Whites were the 11th and final Premiership club to confirm their plans to impose cuts on the players – with only Exeter Chiefs set not to ask for a salary sacrifice from their staff.
Club captain Charlie Ewels has responded to the reports.
Dear supporter,
You might have seen the front page of The Rugby Paper today and if you did, given what we are all experiencing at this time, it would be fair if you felt a sense of disbelief or even disgrace at the headline which reads ‘Bath stars revolt over pay cuts’.
As Captain of our Club, I can categorically say that these reports are not true, and as a playing group, we are not in revolt against our Club. In fact, it’s quite the opposite, we wish to work with the Club through this extremely challenging time so we can get back to where we all want to be, playing rugby at the Rec again.
Everyone at Bath Rugby is committed to working through this together, and the players within the squad that I am fortunate enough to serve as Captain are no different. We play rugby for a living and we understand that if we are not playing games, then there is no money coming in. It is a difficult time for everyone at the Club, however, we are all on this journey together.
We as players understand everything happening across the globe is having a huge impact, and that impact is reaching far beyond us. I can say that I 100% support the principle of the pay cuts, as do the majority of players at the Club, believing they are what is right to guide the Club through this tough period.
Like players at all other Clubs, we have been guided by the advice of our union the RPA during this hugely uncertain time. We are seeking answers to some specific questions regarding players on lower salaries and players coming to the end of their contracts. However, we are discussing these questions openly and transparently with Stuart and Tarquin and I know we will find the right answers in due course. We will do what is right for the future of our people, our Club and our game.
I’d like to close by thanking you all for your continued support,
Charlie Ewels, Club Captain
Is this Bath’s greatest all-time XV?
Bath’s greatest ever XV is often debated among fans, it’s a very difficult one as the club has had numerous legends take to the field at the Rec.
Obviously, this is a matter of perspective, there’s no scientific formula for the undisputed 15, but this is pretty close to it.
You’ll undoubtedly disagree with a lot of our choices so let us know what you think of the team, and what players you’d swap, in the comments.
Fullback: MATT PERRY
Matt Perry is a man who Bath Rugby supporters will remember with fondness for eternity.
He proudly won 36 caps for England, three for the Lions in Australia in 2001, and made an eye watering 221 appearances scoring 561 points for Bath Rugby between 1995 and his enforced retirement in 2007, at that point the Club’s longest serving player.
Winger: DAVID TRICK
Trick was arguably the fastest player in Bath’s history, having run 10.4secs for 100m.
The laid-back winger who thrilled the fans on the flowerpots side of the Rec, scored 143 tries in only 225 1st XV games.
The speedster, an England international, is currently enjoying his second spell as club president.
Outside-centre: JEREMY GUSCOTT
Guscott came through Bath’s youth system as a fly-half, before Jack Rowell moved him to outside centre, where he became a star for Bath, England and the British & Irish Lions.
Guscott made 268 1st XV appearances for Bath and won 65 England caps, scoring 30 Red Rose tries. The man known as the ‘Prince of Centres’ famously dropped a goal for the Lions to win the 1997 series in South Africa
Inside-centre: PHIL DE GLANVILLE
De Glanville joined Bath in 1989 and captained them to a league and cup double in 1996, partnering Jeremy Guscott in the centre for this club that season, as well as many others. He played 189 times for Bath over a 12-year career, scoring 53 tries.
He also started for Bath in the victorious 1998 Heineken Cup Final as they defeated Brive.
DID YOU KNOW: Chiding his renowned good-looks, teammates often referred to De Glanville as “Hollywood”
Winger: TONY SWIFT
At 5ft 10ins and 12st 4lbs, Swift would be diminutive in the modern game. But the winger signed from Swansea in 1985 was a lethal finisher with fantastic footwork.
In only 236 matches he amassed a try tally that is unlikely ever to be beaten at the club. Swift played six times for England and was Bath’s first chairman of the professional era.