Ex-England international delivers a damning Ed Griffiths verdict
Ex-England international Austin Healey hopes that last Wednesday’s exit from Bath of Ed Griffiths will be the last time that the administrator works in the Gallagher Premiership. The ex-Saracens CEO was brought into The Rec last November on a consultancy basis but he was quickly promoted to chairman and this apparently sparked a power struggle with the director of rugby Stuart Hooper.
It was December – before Griffiths had taken on the chairman’s role from owner Bruce Craig – when Hooper was confirmed as the director of rugby for the 2022/23 season with Johann van Graan coming on board as the new head coach from Munster.
The pecking order was reversed last Wednesday, with the latest Bath reshuffle promoting van Graan to head of rugby with full control of the first team and Hooper demoted to a newly created general manager position. It was also decided that Griffiths would relinquish the chairmanship and would exit the club.
Ex-England international Andy Goode was quick off the mark in reacting to the sudden exit of Griffiths, tweeting: “The best thing Bath announced today is that Ed Griffiths has left the building. All the better for the club and Premiership rugby in general!” This prompted a reply from Craig Chalmers, the ex-Scotland player. “Couldn’t agree more Goody! Good riddance! Total fraud!”
The divisiveness of Griffiths became a topic later taken up by Healey, who dedicated his latest UK Telegraph column to this week’s upheaval at Bath. His belief is that Premiership rugby will be all the better for no longer having the administrator involved in the league.
Healey wrote: “Bath got themselves into such a tail-spin six months ago that they brought in Edward Griffiths to do a review. Unfortunately, if the Royal Family brought in Griffiths to do a review on them, perhaps to mark the Platinum Jubilee, he would end up being crowned King. Some people have found his motives and tactics questionable. He is certainly not everyone’s cup of tea, except maybe some players.
“Stuart Hooper is an example of a good person. Griffiths, on the other hand, could be conceived to my mind as a Machiavellian figure who has treated the club as though it were an American corporation and he has been tasked with a hostile takeover. Ultimately, good has come through… For some, it is now obvious that Hooper was not the right man to be director of rugby. It is too early in his career and he did not have the experience.
“We can all agree that Bath’s performances, with the players they have, were not there. For that reason, you have to blame coaches. What is not in dispute is the character of Hooper. I can see why supporters would want a clean break, but his character trumps that in my view. It is too valuable. The role Hooper has after this latest shake-up, that of general manager, is perfect.
Hooper will be excellent. Griffiths is not in the same category, in my opinion. He had gone in there to do a job, but you have to wonder what the motives were for both him and the club… Ultimately, the way Griffiths treated people and undermined trust led to him being surplus to the future. His actions and tactics may have damaged some reputations, and some of the stories coming from The Rec will require a rebuilding of trust. Hooper is the man to do that.
“I cannot see why another Premiership club would turn to him [Griffiths]. You may think this harsh, a character assassination. It is not. I just cannot stand seeing good people pushed around. The simple way of putting it is that I cannot remember a time when his involvement somewhere has not ended in tears. On this occasion, with Bath, it looks like the tears belong to him. And the good people of Bath can take the club forward.”
Comments on RugbyPass
The shoulder is a “joint” with multiple bones. You don’t “fracture” a shoulder, you fracture any one or more of the bones that make up a shoulder.
2 Go to commentsOh dear, bones too suspect to continue?
2 Go to commentsBold headline considering the Canes and Blues are 1 and 2 and the Brumbies were soundly beaten by the Chiefs and Blues. Biggest surprise is Rebels 4 Crusaders 12 - no one saw that coming. If Aus are improving that’s great 👍
1 Go to commentsAnna, You are right, we need to have patience whilst the others catch up to England and France. Also it is the PWR that has been the game changer for England. the RFU put money into that initially at the expense of the Red Roses. I was sceptical at first but it has paid off in spades.
1 Go to commentsI think Matt Proctor became a 1 test AB in the same fixture. Cameron is quality and has been great this season, can’t believe’s he only 27. Realistically how would he not be selected for ABs squad this year. Only Dmac is ahead of him as a specialist 10. With Jordan out, it will come down to where and when Beauden Barrett slots back in, and where they want to play Ruben Love. Cameron seems an absolute lock in for the wider squad though. Added benefit of TJ-Cameron-Jordie combination at 9, 10, 11 too.
1 Go to commentsFarcical, to what end would someone want to pay to keep this thing going.
1 Go to commentsHavili, our best 12 by a mile, will be in the squad, if he stays fit. JB is the most overrated AB in the last 50 years.
61 Go to commentsWe had during the week twilight footy, twilight cricket, tw golf plus there was the athletics club. Then the weekend was rugby 15s plus the net ball, really busy club scene back then but so much has changed and rugby has suffered. And it was all about changing lifestyles.
6 Go to commentsIn the 70s and 80s my club ran 5 Senior sides plus a Vets. Now it is 2 sides with an occasional 3rd team. Players have difficulty getting to training now, not sure why and the commitment is not there. It seems to me more a problem of people applying themselves and not expecting to turn up and play whenever they want to.
6 Go to commentsROG’s contract is until 2027. The conversation about a successor to Galthie after RWC 2027 may be starting now. We can infer that Galthie’s reign stops then. He is throwing the Irish Coaching Job angle in because he is Irish. The next Irish coach MUST be Leo Cullen. As well as being the best coach available, coaching the vast majority of Irish Internationals week in week out, he has shown incredible skill at recruiting the best coaching staff for the job in hand. That was a failing in France. Cullen is a shrewd guy and if there is a need for foreign coaches underneath him he won’t hesitate. Rightly so. Ireland does need to start to bring Irish coaches through. Not just at the professional level but we need to train coaches to man new pathways for developing kids from schools/clubs up through the divisions.
8 Go to commentsNo Islam says it must rule where it stands Thus it is to be deleted from this planet Earth
18 Go to commentsThis team probably does not beat the ABs sadly Not sure if BPA will be available given his signing for Force but has to enter consideration. Very strong possibility of getting schooled by the AB props. Advantage AB. Rodda/Skelton would be a tasty locking combination - would love to see how they get on. Advantage Wallabies. Backrow a risk of getting out hustled and outmuscled by ABs. Will be interesting to see if the Blues feast on the Reds this weekend the way they did the Brumbies we are in big trouble at the breakdown. Great energy, running and defence but goalkicking/general kicking/passing quality in the halves bothers me enormously. SA may have won the World Cup for a lot of the tournament without a recognised goalkicker but Pollard in the final made a difference IMO. Injuries and retirements leave AB stocks a bit lighter but still stronger. 12 and 13 ABs shade it (Barret > Paisami, Ione = Ikitau, arguably) Interesting clash of styles on the wings - Corey Toole running around Caleb Clark and Caleb running over the top of Toole. Reece vs Koro probably the reverse. Pretty even IMO. 15s Kelleway = Love See advantage to ABs man for man, but we are not obviously getting slaughtered anywhere which makes a nice change. Think talent wise we are pretty even and if our cohesion and teamwork is better than the ABs then its just about doable.
11 Go to commentsCompletely agree. More friday night games would be a hit. RFU to make sure every club has a floodlit pitch. Club opens again Saturday to welcome touch / tag. Minis and youths on Sunday
6 Go to comments1.97m and 105Kg? Proportionately, probably skinnier than me at 1.82 and 82kilos. He won’t survive against the big guys at that weight.
56 Go to commentsThe value he brought to the crusaders as an assistant was equal to what he got out of being there. He reflected not only on the team culture but also the credit he attributed to the rugby community. Such experience shouldn’t be overlooked.
8 Go to commentsGood luck Aussie
11 Go to commentssmith at 9 / mounga 10 / laumape 12 / fainganuku 14
61 Go to commentsBar the injuries, it’s pretty much their top team …
2 Go to commentsDon’t disagree with much of this but it appears you forgot Rodda and Beale, who started at the Force on the weekend.
11 Go to commentsExcept for the injured Zach Gallagher this would be Saders best forward pack for the season. Blackadder needs to stay at 7, for all of Christies tackling he is not dominant and offers very little else. McNicholfullback is maybe a good option, Fihaki not really upto it, there was a reason Burke played there last year. Maybe Havilli to 2nd five McLeod to wing. Need a strong winger on 1 side to compliment Reece
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