He's Coming Home, He's Coming Home...
Hooray
By Glen Leat
June 10 2002
Jack Rowell is a blue-eyed soul singer with blazing guitar licks to match. Blues guitar legend, Albert King, once said about Jack, "He is one bad white boy who can flat sing and play the blues!" All this and a great rugby coach to-boot, and he's coming home!!
Rowell, who led Bath to eight Cup wins and
five League titles, will be confirmed as
Bath's new director of rugby at a press conference
on Thursday. Jack Rowell first joined Bath
when he moved to the area for work purposes.
Having captained Gosforth to two Twickenham
finals some twenty-five years ago, Big Jack
approached an unsuccessful but very committed
Bath Football Club on completion of his move
to the south. Soon he joined forces with
Tom Hudson and Dave Robson to establish an
ambitious coaching structure but it was not
to last and within a couple of years Rowell
took over the running of the club.
Success at Bath led on to the "top job"
(after coaching Bath of course) of England
coach but Rowell never appeared to be as
happy on the international stage as he was
in the West Country. Jack often referred
to the "Bath Family" and it is
no surprise that the Favourite Son has returned.
Jack was never too big for the supporters
of Bath and was always willing to have a
natter over a beer or two. I remember him
giving up a Sunday morning to meet a couple
of nervous ERE reporters for an interview,
and this was while he was England manager.
There has been much speculation for a number
of weeks that Bath would seek the services
of either New Zealander Brad Johnstone or
ex-Cardiff coach Alex Evans but press reports
indicated that Bath wanted to maintain their
tradition of appointing an Englishman to
the post to work alongside Michael Foley
on the rebuilding of the club. Despite the
touting of high profile names for the post,
most Bath fans were hoping that the name
of Jack Rowell would be rise to the top.
It was never easy for the Rec Faithful to
see their former "saviour" trying
to make Bristol a better team and there will
be plenty of joy in the Georgian City this
week as we welcome home the man with blue,
black and white in his veins.
Jack Rowell's Rugby Story
GOSFORTH
John Player Cup: winners 1976, 1977.
BATH
Pilkington Cup: winners 1984, 1985, 1986,
1987, 1989, 1990, 1992, 1994, 1995.
Courage League: champions 1988-89, 1990-91,
1991-92, 1993-94.
BRISTOL
Zurich Championship finalists 2001-2002
ENGLAND
1994: W 32-15 v South Africa; L 9-27 v South
Africa; W 54-3 v Romania; W 60-19 v Canada.
1995: W 20-8 v Ireland; W 31-10 v France;
W 23-9 v Wales; W 24-12 v Scotland; W 24-18
v Argentina; W 27-20 v Italy; W 44-22 v Western
Samoa; W 25-22 v Australia; L 29-45 v New
Zealand; L 9-19 v France; L 14-24 v South
Africa; W 27-9 v Western Samoa. (Winners
of Grand Slam and Triple Crown. Placed fourth
in RWC95)
1996: L 12-15 v France; W 21-15 v Wales;
W 18-9 v Scotland; W 28-15 v Ireland; W 54-21
v Italy; W 20-18 v Argentina. (Triple Crown
and Five Nations championship winners).
1997: W 41-13 v Scotland; W 46-6 v Ireland;
L 20-23 v France; W 34-13 v Wales; W 46-20
v Argentina; L 13-33 v Argentina, L 6-25
v Australia.
Overall record: P 29, W 21, D 0, L 8, F 811
A 508.