Sam Burgess ‘will bring the best out of youngsters’ – Neale Hatley

Bath forwards coach Neal Hatley hopes star signing Sam Burgess will raise the standards of his entire squad and help them fight on both domestic and European fronts.
Burgess, the former Great Britain Rugby League man who has been described as England‘s answer to Sonny Bill Williams, landed in England this week after winning his final trophy for the South Sydney Rabbitohs despite playing the match with a broken cheekbone.
Bath have displayed inconsistent form so far this season,  showing polar opposites in their Premiership and European games and Hatley believes the signing of Burgess could be the trigger to galvanize the team.
“His arrival is perfectly timed, we’ve all seen what this boy can do, and I know a lot of people have been watching his highlights on YouTube,” Hatley told The Rugby Paper.
“It’s going to be fantastic to have someone of his ability involved in our squad. I’m especially pleased that he’ll bring the best out of people like Matt Garvey and Carl Fearns.
“We’ve heard about his character, that he’s got a bit of an iron will and refuses to get beaten until he’s down and I think the more people you have of that sort of attitude in the squad you know the more complete you become.”
However, as media attention centres on the 6ft4in  and 18st 7lb bohemoth, Hatley hopes focus does not get lost from the rest of the squad, who have so far won four of their six Premiership games.
“People can sometimes focus too much on Sam and not on the quality players that we’ve got,” Hatley added. “Training at Bath is second to none and the coaches ensure that every individual has a personalised programme.
“They have their own dedicated time in the training schedule to ensure every person improves as a player.
“We put a huge amount of time into this programme. So that whether they are involved in the World Cup or not, everybody will receive the same amount of attention. It won’t be a case of you receiving special treatment for being good enough to play for England or the World Cup.”
With a squad of around 50, Hatley says there are  25 players with a similar winning attitude to Burgess and he predicts the rest will soon to be of a similar mindset.
“To get someone of Burgess’ calibre will hopefully run through camp and help them all compete with the top-flight teams,” said Hatley.
“When you have a player with that desire and attitude which is infectious, it boosts the mood in camp, the more players that you can add to your squad that are like that, you can then hit that tipping point, where everybody slowly starts to have the same goal.”
One player who will not be part of the plan is Steffon Armitage after the short-term deal hit the buffers.
Hatley added: “There was an audacious bid made by us. Looking from an injury point of view we were desperate to get another back-row in, along with Stef being desperate to revive his England career.
“Up until the very last minute we thought it was a done deal. It’s a pity for us but specifically for Stef as the opportunity for him has now passed.”
TALYA ROSE-VARGA