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The Bath prediction about Billy Sela, their U20s World Cup winner

By Liam Heagney
Billy Sela is back training at Bath after overcoming his U20s World Cup injury (Photo by Patrick Khachfe/Getty Images)

Bath boss Johann van Graan has explained why the potential of sending Billy Sela, one of their recent World Cup U20 Championship winners, out on loan to get first-team experience is an option not on the table. Signed by the Bath senior academy in 2023, the 19-year-old tighthead was an age-grade Six Nations winner with Mark Mapletoft’s England before travelling on to South Africa and becoming a world champion last July.

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Sela missed the semi-final and final at the tournament in Cape Town due to an injury suffered in the gruelling winter weather, pool-clinching win over the Junior Boks, but he has since returned to fitness and featured in Bath’s two most recent pre-season friendlies versus Ealing and Dragons.

It was decided regarding Arthur Green, an U20s colleague of Sela’s who scored in the DHL Stadium final versus France, that a year on loan with Doncaster Knights in the Championship would be the best way to develop his career. However, the thinking over what to do next with Sela has turned out differently.

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The front-rower played numerous games last season for Bath University, which helping him transition into playing against adult players. Now having involved in two of Bath’s friendlies ahead of Friday night’s new Gallagher Premiership season opener at home to Northampton, van Graan has made a prediction about what will happen to Sela in their 2024/25 campaign.

“Billy has had a fantastic first season last season out of school, not only at Bath Uni but also England U20s,” said van Graan when asked this week by RugbyPass what was his plan for Sela. “He got a hamstring injury in a poach position at the Junior World Cup but he has fought his way back into fitness. People forget how young he is. Two weeks ago he came on for the first time. Played a few minutes last weekend against the Dragons. So Billy is definitely in our plans.

Fixture
Gallagher Premiership
Bath
13:45
20 Sep 24
Northampton
All Stats and Data

“He won’t go on loan at this stage. I believe he is good enough to play at some stage during the season, so whenever that date comes he will make his Premiership debut.”

Club skipper Ben Spencer didn’t have a successful U20s World Cup when he featured at that level for England, his class of 2012 finishing in seventh place in a tournament that was also hosted in Cape Town. But he has since gone on to enjoy a stellar professional career, initially at Saracens before his 2020 switch to Bath.

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An England Test team sub at the 2019 Rugby World Cup final and bench cover for Alex Mitchell in the recent series in New Zealand, what advice does the 32-year-old Spencer have for the likes of Sela looking to breakthrough at club first-team level after international age-grade success?

“I’m not too sure. We didn’t have the best 20s World Cup when I played for them. Just stay hungry. You come back from there with a massive high and you probably expect to jump straight into first-team rugby.

“Sometimes it probably doesn’t happen like that and it’s about biding your time and working hard and doing everything you can to not only get better yourself but to do as much as you can to prep the team for the weekend as best you can. For me and probably for Johann as well, being a team player is huge.

“That is what we recognised really well last year, how important the players who weren’t playing week in week out were; how important it was for them to turn up at training just as much as it was for the guys playing at the weekend to turn up. I’d just say stay hungry and be a good team player.”

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Bull Shark 54 minutes ago
Why Rassie Erasmus should cull some Boks veterans for 2027

I think cull is the wrong word.


I think Rassie and the senior players will be pretty open and honest with each other about their prospects for another World Cup campaign. And, ironically, I don’t think Rassie is thinking as far ahead as 2027 in terms of who is going to go.


There are likely going to be injuries too where players one would assume will be at 2027 won’t feature. Think Marx and Am and 2023.


I think the priority is really having as many players as possible in contention for a spot on the 33 by the time squad selection comes around.


I made this point a while ago, but having double World Cup winners in the setup over the next 3 years is going to be golden for the boks. It’s like having a coach in each position.


Razor was criticized for having too many coaches in his team. Rassie has more than 15 player coaches at his disposal.


I think Siya is being teed up to play the same role Duane did at the 2023 RWC. Invitation to the coaching box this coming weekend included.


I think many of the old guard are playing a role in the team that certainly does not guarantee them a 2027 place but doesn’t hurt their chances at being selected - but they will have to be the no.1 or no. 2 best in that position to be selected at that time. There won’t be any dead weight - whether old or young.


In my mind the strategy would be quite simple. Take everyone who will be over 32 by 2027 and pencil their names in right now in slot number three for their relative position. We know what they can do and they know what they need to do to be in contention for 2027.


Then ask yourself who do we have to take position no.1 and no. 2. Tried and tested or not. Find them and trial them over the next 3 years. Their job is to keep the old guys out. And the old guys job is to help them do just that.


That’s what Rassie has to do and has started well trying 48 players and 11 debutants in year one as the article mentioned (and winning).


I reckon there’ll be another 5-10 new players tried by the end of this year, particularly in November.


2024 ✅

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