On the 13th February I was given the opportunity to go down to Farleigh House on behalf of LWOS and meet with Bath Rugby coach Neal Hatley, to discuss all things rugby and have a tour around the rather impressive training base.
It is a beautiful place set in the Bath countryside, and everything from the training pitch to the tea rooms are immaculate. We started off in the gym where Neal explained that certain players have different training routines dependent on position and individual needs. Alternatively, if they are coming back from injury they have facilities that mimic altitude to help get them back to full fitness along with the dreaded watt bike of course.
We then viewed the training pitches, the 3G pitch included which was handy as Bath faced Saracens that weekend and we also discussed the training schedule. I was keen to gather information on this with rugby being as it is I wanted to see how much emphasis was on rest and recovery, and how much was focused on the rugby side. Neal explained that this is dependent on the week’s schedule, but sessions are usually short and sharp with high intensity with the warm up being in the gym. That given week Bath had trained with Bristol in a training game which can sometimes be useful to keep the intensity up.
Furthermore Neal elaborated on Bath’s academy, with so much talent coming through he explained they train within the first team squad for integration purposes and sometimes travel with the team to get used to the environment so when they eventually step up it isn’t alien to them. He seems a big fan of developing young players through the loan system, and used examples such as David Sisi to Leeds last season, Benny Obano at Coventry and recently Tom Ellis’s move up to Leeds like his team mate before him. He explained the regular game time and contact further developed the player. However, not every young player goes out on loan as if the club feels there are things to work on in house they will do so.
We then grabbed a drink and sat down for a short interview within another area of the complex which you can listen to within this article. It was such a great experience, and I tried to absorb the abundance of knowledge that Neal clearly has as best I could. I will be forever grateful for the opportunity and hope to work with him again soon. Thanks Neal and everyone else I met on the day at Bath Rugby for making me feel so welcome.
Neal Hatley Interview – JP by Lastwordonsports on Mixcloud
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