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Where are they now? The Bath 1988/89 Courage League title winners
By Neil Fissler
Bath are bidding this Saturday to be champions of England for the seventh time and become the second most successful team in the competition’s history.
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The West Country giants currently have six titles – the same as Saracens and Wasps – but are still five short of the most successful team, Leicester Tigers, who won their 11th crown in 2022.
Bath, who last won the title in 1996, have been runners-up five times, including in their last Premiership final appearance in 2015.
The first title win in 1989 – in the second year of the competition – sparked one of the most successful periods that English club rugby has ever known.
That season, Jack Rowell’s Bath won 10 of their 11 games. The only defeat suffered was 15-12 against deposed champions Leicester at Welford Road in the final round of fixtures.
They finished five points ahead of runners-up Gloucester while Waterloo and Liverpool St Helens dropped out of the top flight in an era of relegation.
The Courage League title wasn’t the only piece of silverware to end up at The Rec that year as Stuart Barnes scored a try and two penalties in the Pilkington Cup final to edge out Leicester 10-6. This is what happened to Bath’s 1989 double winners:
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Stuart Barnes: England and Lions fly-half has a successful media career with Sky Sports, The Times, and Sunday Times.
Gareth Chilcott: England and Lions loosehead has been involved in a music venue in Bristol, The Tunnels, and Venatour, a sports travel company.
Mark Crane: Prop has worked in the dairy industry and is a commercial manager at Chew Valley Dairy.
Damian Cronin: Scotland and Lions Lock runs a firm in Little Bookham, Surrey, that supplies and fits new and reclaimed wood and stone flooring.
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Graham Dawe: England hooker has been a farmer and was director of rugby and head coach at Plymouth Albion. He also coaches Cornwall and has done some coaching for England.
Jimmy Deane: Hooker was the manager of the Bath Rugby Foundation and is the founder of Sporting Family Change.
Dave Egerton: England back row worked in insurance and investment, and also commentated for BBC Bristol until his death in February 2021.
Jeremy Guscott: England and Lions centre has worked in the media, was a director of a cosmetics company, and has a property rental firm.
John Hall: England back row formed PGIR Ltd, a Wiltshire-based performance and analysis company, and is an investor relations specialist.
Simon Halliday: England international, who could play in the centre or on the wing, has worked in investment banking and was chairman of EPCR, the organiser of the Champions and Challenge Cup tournaments.
Richard Hill: Scrum-half has coached in England, Wales and France where spent a decade with Rouen and Perigueux Dordogne Athletic Club.
Keith Hoskin: Full-back had jobs for Courage Brewers before becoming a project manager in the IT industry.
Richard Lee: England B tighthead still runs the family farm near Taunton in Somerset.
Audley Lumsden: England B full-back is a physics teacher and helps with games at Lord Wandsworth College in Hook, Hampshire.
John Morrison: England B lock is the founder and managing director of Four Wealth Management Ltd.
Thank you to Roger Bolton, Neil Taylor, and Julian for their contributions to Saturday’s play-off celebrations!
Thanks to Roger and the team, a brilliant Blue, Black and White remix of 'Shout' rang around The Rec after the final whistle, giving new meaning to the iconic song.
— Bath Rugby (@BathRugby) June 4, 2024
Victor Obogu: England prop owned a sports bar, Shoeless Joe’s, and launched VU Ltd, a sporting travel and hospitality business based in Twickenham.
John Palmer: England centre was a school teacher while playing. He worked at the Bath academy until 2012 and then returned to teaching at Prior Park.
Nigel Redman: England lock worked for British Swimming as head of performance team development and is now the RFU’s team performance director.
Andy Robinson: England flanker has coached England, Scotland and Romania. Is currently Bath’s head academy coach.
Fred Sagoe: Ghana-born winger is a barrister who was called to the bar in July 1983. Now works out of Villa Chambers, Oundle, near Peterborough.
Paul Simpson: England back row works in financial services and is a director of Leicestershire firm, Angell Mallinder.
Tony Swift: An England winger when an accountant, he was Bath’s chief executive and is now the managing director of the healthcare firm, Apodi Limited.
Barry Trevaskis: England trialist winger coached and worked in Plymouth’s police marine unit, retiring after 27 years of service.
