Bath having 'productive' talks with PWR

Bath partnered with Bath Ladies in 2021 with the aim of eventually creating a professional women's team

Bath are having "productive" and "collaborative" conversations with the PWR about a women's team one day joining the league says their chief executive.

Bath applied to enter a new women's team in Premiership Women's Rugby in 2023 when the league rebranded but were unsuccessful at the tender stage.

The PWR is currently made up of nine clubs and while expansion has been ruled out for 2026-27, beyond that is undecided.

"The conversations that we're having with the PWR now are much more collaborative in nature, being able to take a longer term view to plan for that entry in the future in a way that means we can build a player performance pathway," Tarquin McDonald, Bath chief executive told BBC Sport.

"Also having that commercial runway so we can enter in a sustainable way. What's really good is that those relationships and conversations with the PWR are very productive."

The reigning men's Prem champions are one of just three men's top flight clubs - along with Northampton and Newcastle - currently without a top tier women's outfit.

They partnered with existing team Bath Ladies in 2021 - who have a team that plays in the Championship 1 South, the second tier of the women's game in England - and made a pledge to grow the sport across the region.

PWR executive chair, Genevieve Shore, said the league was "open to talking to anyone" who is interested in investing in the women's game and it was "exciting" Bath wanted to join.

"We are willing to work collaboratively with all stakeholders to that end," Shore said.

"Bath Rugby are incredibly committed to their women's programme, and it's exciting that a club as prestigious as Bath is interested in joining the PWR."

Bath chief executive Tarquin McDonald (left) said conversations are 'productive' with the PWR

Since the partnership began with Bath Ladies, participation numbers at the club have increased, while the new funds from the men's club has meant the standards around what is an entirely amateur team, who trains twice a week, are going up.

"The investment that we've put into Bath Ladies means that those players are able to develop and it means that we're giving them a taste of what PWR rugby would look like," said women's performance lead Maria Crowfoot-Riggs.

"Around strength and conditioning, the analysis the medical support that we have, training at facilities like this at the university - they get gym access beforehand and now on an all-weather pitch we can train all year round."

Yet McDonald says the club needs to grow its income "significantly" to get to the point where a women's team is able to sustain itself, citing costs between £1m to £1.5m needed for a PWR club.

"We're going to need to grow those income streams significantly moving forward," McDonald said.

"As we look to get to the point where we have a future women's team, sponsorship, matchday income streams, but there's also the opportunity to co-invest and be more deeply involved in the journey that we're on as a club."

A new home for men's and women's rugby

On Saturday, Bath Ladies are playing one of their now annual fixtures at the Recreation Ground, taking on Exeter University in a double header with the men's side after their Prem Cup match against Sale.

McDonald said the long-term plans would see the women's team making the Rec their home now their stadium redevelopment has been given the go ahead.

"We're designing that as a home for men's and women's rugby. That's very much at the heart of our plans," McDonald said.

"We want to build on the momentum that we have as a club and the momentum that we have in terms of our plans with the stadium here, and women's rugby is very much at the heart of all of them."

Developing the depth of players remains key, but Crowfoot-Riggs cites the change in the boundaries for Bath men's academy catchment area - which since last year now covers Berkshire and Hampshire as well as Dorset, Wiltshire and Somerset - as another advantage for the women's side as it looks to expand.

For club captain Chloe Williams, the game at the Rec is also an opportunity to showcase what they can do and hopefully continue to grow their fanbase.

"It's a massive deal, especially in a rugby city everyone talks about the Rec," Williams said.

"We've had some amazing games in the past and the people who've watched the games have always come back – that's never been a problem – it's getting more and more people through the gates is our aim."