‘Bath players have to be accountable’
RUARIDH McConnochie says Bath‘s players have to accept responsibility for the club’s worst start to a Premiership campaign –a run of ten straight defeats.
Their match against London Irish tomorrow was called off last night due to Covid, so they must wait until Sunday for their next chance to stop the rot against Worcester.
Bath have lost 14 of their last 15 matches in the top flight and are fortunate there is no relegation this season. They have brought in Brent Janse van Rensburg as defence coach with Munster head coach Johan van Graan taking over as head coach next season.
But England wing McConnochie said it was not the management team who should be taking the flak for their losing streak.
“If I was on the outside, I would think it is a worse environment in the camp than it is,” said the 30-year old McConnochie, who was in England’s World Cup squad in Japan. “That is what I have assumed when I have thought about clubs who have been on a bad run in recent years. Our environment is positive and that is driven by the coaches.
“We have to be accountable as players because we are the ones on the pitch making decisions. The media talk about the coaches and the director of rugby, but it is on our shoulders as well.”
It has been a frustrating campaign for McConnochie who has made only two league starts after suffering a pectoral injury last April that took longer to clear up than he was led to expect.
“I was advised not to have an operation and that it would take between eight and 12 weeks to heal.” he said. “It was six months before I was fully fit, which I was not prepared for and I was grateful the off-season took up a chunk of that.
“It was hugely frustrating having to watch games. I was tempted to put a match on record and watch it later so I did not have to be looking at it with high stress levels. I was all the more emotional because I appreciated all the hard work everyone was putting in and it made me realise I am a terrible watcher of matches.
“I am now looking to get a consistent run of games together and defence is a massive work-on for us because we have conceded 40+ points so many times this season. It is a confidence thing: when we are winning with 20 minutes to go, doubt creeps in whereas a year ago we knew how to hold out in that position.
“We cannot pretend. We have to be very up front and brutally realistic about where we are. It is not good enough but if you lower your confidence you drag people down with you. Everyone here wants to get better and we have to see this run as a challenge. It is seriously tough but we have to find how to get the best out of everyone.
“It is hard seeing the strain the coaches are under. People get caught up in the moment and in the hysteria forget the coaches are as desperate for the club to win as they are. They work longer hours than us and so much goes on in the background you can forget the pressure they are under.
“Having looked at this for the last six years, starting with the England Sevens, I do not think elite sports management is for me. It is far too much of a high stress environment.”
McConnochie has not appeared for England since the World Cup match against the United States in October 2019. Under a change in the rules, he will become eligible to play for Scotland, where his father was born, in ten months.
“When the rule was changed, two of my mates texted me with the October 2022 date and my dad did as well,” said McConnochie. “It is hypothetical and I have not considered it. I just want to play well for Bath and anything on top of that is a bonus.
“England is always on your mind. What I learned after the first lockdown and the shortened second half of the season was that no matter how well you’re playing, selection is out of your hands. Eddie Jones rang me to say I was not in the squad and gave the reasons. I felt I was doing as well as I could and resolved not to worry about playing international rugby again.”
