NICK CAIN

AT the same time as two clubs, Ealing and Doncaster, have failed the RFU/Premiership ground criteria rules to be promoted to the ring-fenced top league, the dire facilities at The Rec in Bath betray the double-standards at work.
Half of the stands at The Rec – along one touchline, and at the clubhouse end – are uncovered temporary scaffold structures which are open to the elements. The temporary stands, which give the ground a 14,500 capacity, have been in place four years already, and have just been granted a threeyear extension by Bath and NE Somerset Council.
The reason for thi...