West finance directors were given an insight by leading figures at Bath Rugby into the pressures of delivering results both on and off the pitch at a seminar organised by the Bristol office of business and financial advisers Grant Thornton.
The firm, which sponsors the Aviva Premiership side, held its latest FD Club at the Bath’s Farleigh House headquarters.
Director of rugby Gary Gold said Bath were making giant strides – both in a sporting and a financial sense.
“Rugby has been professional for a relatively short space of time and only a handful of Premiership clubs are profitable, so it remains a tough business,” he said.
Pictured, from left, Tarquin McDonald of Bath Rugby, Allister Weir and James Morter of Grant Thornton, Gary Gold, Bath Rugby
“Nonetheless things are going extremely well for the club off the field and it is fantastic to have everything here in one place at Farleigh House, with the exception of our ticketing and retail operations, which needs to be in the city centre.
“We were disappointed with the way things went on the field last season and my biggest challenge has been to put new systems into place to help us all to understand why the team is winning games, and also why it is losing games.”
Mr Gold added that all aspects of the team’s play in every game were analysed in depth by several coaches, using methods including detailed ‘KPI score cards’.
“We have a wealth of data on every aspect of each player’s game and the key is to make this work for us without stifling the creativity of the players, especially the younger ones,” he said
Bath’s finance director Tarquin McDonald told the gathering that the club were now in a healthier financial position than was the case when he first arrived.
“I needed to deliver some difficult messages when I arrived,” he said. “However, it was important to communicate the fact that there was light at the end of the tunnel and since then, with the support of our owner, Bruce Craig, we have steadily been delivering value and improving performance.”
