Gary Gold looking towards Bath challenge – Rugby News Update
Gary Gold, the new director of rugby at Bath, in the Aviva Premiership, feels confident that he can deliver for the club, and rise to the expectations.
Prior to joining Bath Rugby, Gold had the arduous task of keeping Newcastle Falcons in the Premiership. However, he was unable to revive the fortunes of the club from the north-eat but it does seem that the Falcons will stay in the top division.
Bath has made several changes in their backroom staff, and Toby Booth, Neal Hatley, Mike Ford and Brad Davis will join the director of rugby.
All four signings have extensive experience at coaching. Booth spent a decade with London Irish, and four of those as head coach. He will work as a forwards coach at Bath.
Hatley is also joining in the capacity of a forwards coach, having prior experience at the youth academy at London Irish.
Ford worked with Gold at Newcastle, and he will come in as a defence coach. He is a former rugby league player, who has worked as a defence coach for the British and Irish Lions.
Davis has been a defence and skills coach at Bath since 2006, and under Gold he will keep the same portfolio.
He has put together a good team that can put Bath on the top of the Premiership once again, and they will not have the distraction of European rugby for the next season, and it will give the new coaching team more time to understand the players.
"I come from a background in Cape Town where levels of expectation are as high as they are here in Bath," Gold told BBC Points West.
"I'm used to expectations and I'm happy with them, I'm excited about them."
Speaking about his previous experience Western Province, he said, "Western Province is a proud, traditional rugby province just like Bath is a traditional rugby club."
"The similarities are certainly there and, with the last four years coaching the national team, I don't need to tell you how passionate the South Africans are about their rugby.”
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