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'I'm totally at peace': Bath hooker Ross Batty retires with immediate effect
Ross Batty has called time on his 16-year career, the 34-year-old stepping away from the game on the advice of medical professionals following a neck injury sustained playing for before Christmas 2020. “I’m totally at peace with retirement now,” said Durham native Batty, who has spent over a decade at Bath. “At the start, I was very blinkered to what I think would have been quite clear to other people. I thought I would get fixed and get back out there again, but sometimes you can’t see the wood for the trees.
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“The situation is such where I can’t really go again and it’s a time where I have to accept it and move on. It would be massively risky to go back out there again and seriously risk my health. I’m really looking forward to the future and what might come next for me.”
Batty began playing for Darlington Mowden Park minis before progressing at Barnard Castle School and eventually being picked up by the Newcastle Falcons academy. A loan spell back at Darlington was his first taste of senior rugby and a 2006 Premiership debut was earned for the Falcons against Saracens.
Three years in the senior set-up at Kingston Park ended with a season at Rotherham Titans and it proved to be Batty’s last club up north, the hooker switching to Bath for whom he has made more than 170 appearances.
“I certainly didn’t expect to be living so long down in the West Country but when you have been involved in the town and what we have been doing for so long, it becomes a natural home for you. The people and the fans have had a massive part to play in that and have always been welcoming; I just feel very comfortable down here and it’s a beautiful part of the world.
?? ??? ?? ?? ???
After 16 years a professional, over a decade of which was spent in ?????… @Rossbatty2 will hang up his boots at the end of the season ?#WeAreBath
— Bath Rugby (@BathRugby) June 1, 2021
“I’m massively proud to have been here at this club for long; to achieve this many games at Bath is something I’m unbelievably proud of,” continued Batty. “I never got the chance to play at a higher level so I made a firm belief to give everything for Bath when I played. I’m happy and grateful to have had the opportunity.”
Bath boss Stuart Hooper added: “Ross has been an incredible servant for our club and was a key part of the pack in the Premiership final in 2015. He has a physical edge which combined with his skills as a dynamic ball carrier makes him an exciting player to watch. His decision to retire has not been easy but he has earned the respect of his teammates and coaches and that is something that I know will be replicated in his future.”
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Batty, who plans to continue living in Bath, will now begin work with Stonewood Builders this summer. “It’s been a ride,” he said. “It’s been great fun and I have genuinely loved it. Bath is a good club to be a part of and hopefully, I’ll be able to get down to a few games in the future.
“I’m very thankful for my time here, I’ve loved every minute of it and it’s where I’m going to stay down here in the West Country with my two girls Stacey and Lyla (girlfriend and little girl) for the foreseeable future as I love this part of the world. I have just got a job with Stonewood Builders. I’m very happy to have the opportunity there; they have helped put a plan together to develop over the next five years and I can’t wait to get stuck in. It’s a new chapter I’m massively excited for.”
Batty out!! ?? pic.twitter.com/aFRwL3wDci
— Ross batty (@Rossbatty2) June 1, 2021
Comments on RugbyPass
Absolutely..all they need is a chance in yhe playoffs and I bet all the other teams will be nervous…THEY KNOW HOW TO WIN IM THE PLAYOFFS..
2 Go to commentsI really hope he comes back and helps out with some coaching.
1 Go to commentsI think we are all just hoping that the Olympic 7s doesn’t suffer the same sad fate as the last RWC with the officials ruining the spectacle.
1 Go to commentsPersonally, I’ve lost the will to even be bothered about the RFU, the structure, the participants. It’s all a sham. I now simply enjoy getting a group of friends together to go and watch a few games a year in different locations (including Europe, the championship, etc). I feel extremely sorry for the real fans of these clubs who are constantly ignored by the RFU and other administrators. I feel especially sorry for the fans of clubs in the Championship who have had considerable central funding stripped away and are then expected to just take whatever the RFU put to them. Its all a sham, especially if the failed clubs are allowed to return.
9 Go to commentsI’m guessing Carl Hayman would have preferred to have stayed in NZ with benefit of hindsight. Up north there is the expectation to play twice as many games with far less ‘player management’ protocols that Paul is now criticising. Less playing through concussions means longer, healthier, careers. Carter used as the eg here by Paul, his sabbatical allowed him to play until age 37. OK its not an exact science but there is far more expectations on players who sign for Top 14 or Engl Prem clubs to get value for the huge salaries. NZR get alot wrong but keeping their best players in NZ rugby is not one of them. SA clubs are virtually devoid of their top players now, no thanks. They cant threaten the big teams in the Champions Cup, the squads have little depth. Cant see Canes/Chiefs struggling. Super has been great this year, fantastic high skill matches. Drua a fantastic addition and Jaguares will add another quality team eventually. Aus teams performing strongly and no doubt will benefit with the incentive of a Lions tour and a home RWC. Let Jordie enjoy his time with Leinster, it will allow the opportunity for another player to emerge at Canes in his absence.
5 Go to commentsLove that man, his way to despise angry little men is so funny ! 😂
4 Go to comments“South African franchises would be powerhouses if we had all our overseas based players back in situ. We would have the same unbeatable aura the Toulouses, Leinsters or Saracens of this world have had over the last decade or so.” Proof that Jake white does not understand the economics of the game in SA. Players earning abroad are not going to simply come back and represent the bulls. But they might if they have a springbok contract.
22 Go to commentsA lot of fans just joined in for the fun of it! We all admire O'Gara and what he has done for La Rochelle
4 Go to commentsThe RFU will find a way to mess this up as usual. My bet is there will be no promotion into the the Premiership, only relegation into National League One. Hopefully they won’t parachute failed clubs into the league at the expense of clubs who have battled for promotion.
9 Go to commentsWell that’s the contracts for RG and Jordie bought and paid for. Now, what are the chances we can persuade Antoine to hop over with all the extra dosh we’ll have from living at the Aviva & Croke next season…??? 🤑🤑🤑
14 Go to commentsWow, that’s incredible. Great for rugby.
14 Go to commentsYou probably read that parling is going to coach the wallaby lineout but if not before now you have.
14 Go to commentsIf someone like Leo Cullen was in O’Gara’s place I don’t hear Boo-ing. It’s not just that La Rochelle has hurt Leinster and O’Gara is their Irish boss. It’s the needle that he brings and the pantomime activity before the game around pretending that Munster were supporting LaRochelle just because O’Gara is from Cork. That’s dividing Irish provinces just to get an advantage for his French Team. He can F*ck right off with that. BOOOOO! (but not while someone is lying injured)
4 Go to commentsDid the highlanders party too hard before the game? They were the pits.
1 Go to commentsWhat a player! Not long until he’s in the England side, surely?
4 Go to commentsHe seems to have the same aura as Marcus Smith - by which I mean he’s consistently judged as if he’s several years younger than he actually is. Mngomezulu has played 24 times for the Stormers. When Pollard was his age he had played 24 times for South Africa! He has more time to develop, but he has also had time to do some developing already, and he hasn’t demonstrated nearly as much talent in that time as one would expect. If he is a generational talent, then it must be a pretty poor generation.
6 Go to commentsThe greatest Springbok coach of all time is entirely on the money. Rassie and Jacques have given the south african public a great few years, but the success of the springbok selection policy will need to be judged in light of what comes next. The poor condition that the provincial system is currently in doesn’t bode well for the next few years of international rugby, and the insane 2026 schedule that the Boks have lined up could also really harm both provincial and international consistency.
22 Go to commentsJake White is a brilliant coach and a master in the press. This is another masterclass in media relations and PR but its also a very narrow view with arguments that dont always hold water. White wants his team to win, he wants the best players in SA and wants his team competitive. You however have to face up to the reality of a poor exchange rate and big clubs with big budgets. SA Rugby cant compete and unless it can find more money SA players will keep leaving regardless of Springbok eligibility and this happened in 2015 - 2017. Also rugby is not cricket. Cricket has 3 formats and T20 cricket is where the money is at. When it comes to club vs country the IPL is king but that wont happen because the international calendar does not clash with the club calendar in rugby. So the argument about rugby going down the same path as cricket is really a non-starter
22 Go to commentsNZ rugby seem not to have learnt anything from professional rugby. Super rugby was dying and SA left before they died with the competition. SA rugby did a u turn on their approach to international players playing overseas and such players are now selected for Bok teams. As much as each country would love to retain their players playing in local competitions, this is the way the world is evolving my friends. Move with it or stay 20 years behind the times. One more thing. NZ rugby hierarchy think they are the big cheese. Take a more humble approach guys. You do not seem to have your players best interests at heart.
5 Go to commentsBeaches? In Cardiff? Where?
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