Towering talent who took Bath to the top

JACK Rowell’s contribution to Bath rugby was immeasurable from the beginning when he arrived at The Rec as coach in 1978 to his departure in 1994, when he took over as England coach, winning a Five Nations Grand Slam in 1995.

- JEREMY GUSCOTT

Jack was at Gosforth for a bit as a player, and also as a coach when they won the John Player Cup in 1976 and 1977, before his business career brought him to the south-west, and into contact with club stalwart/ coach Dave Robson.

Dave owned an accounting firm, and started to put things together with Jack, who died last Monday aged 87, to turn Bath into a major club – which they weren’t at the time, because I remember as a kid watching Welsh sides come over the border and thrash Bath.

My playing career started in mini rugby at Bath (1972-77), before I went to Walcott Old Boys as a junior. Then, after joining Bath Colts in 1981, I started to hear the name Jack Rowell. We had a decent Colts side, and some of us were given opportunities when the senior side played clubs lower in the pecking order.

I got a couple of games in 1982-83, and in 1984 I was drafted onto the senior side bench while playing for the Colts on tour in Cornwall. I also remember the Colts coaches telling me I’d be needed on the bench in the 1985 John Player Cup final against London Welsh, and it was about that time when players like Stuart Barnes were starting to arrive and bed-in – and you heard as much about them as you did Jack.

Jack wasn’t aloof, but he often made himself so, in order to control the exchange – but he could also be engaging, with a sparkle in his eye. He had the gift of good judgement when you look at the captains he picked, whether Roger Spurrell, Richard Hill, Stuart Barnes, John Hall, Andy Robinson, or Phil de Glanville.

Given the number of strong characters in the squad if you didn’t get those captains right, you would have had a riot on your hands – and he got it right, because he understood who got the buy-in from the squad.

Spurrell and Rowell connected in a big way, and the message from them that kept everyone’s ego in check was that however good you were, it was always about the team.