A BIG THANK YOU TO OUR BATH RUGBY MASCOTS!

On Saturday 24th April the Bath Rugby boys ran out onto the hallowed pitch at Twickenham to take on our biggest rivals London Wasps in a special St George's Day match in London. Needless to say we were victorious as we defeated Wasps by 35 to 19 and have dramatically increased our chances of securing a place in the Guinness Premiership Play-Offs.

The game suited its surroundings with plenty of fast paced action and a total of five exhilarating tries (pity only four of them were for Bath!). Unluckily for the hosts, Wasps, it hadn't paid off for them to take this special match to the home of English rugby, Twickenham, but I am sure the huge contingent of blue, black and white supporters were very happy that they did!

With a hat-trick of tries for Joe Maddock, some inspirational play from Olly Barkley and a heroic display from Bath's forwards this is certainly going to be up there as one of Bath Rugby's great performances.

There to help the boys on this big day were 20 lucky young Bath supporters who each took one of the players by the hand and helped to lead the boys out onto the pitch in front of a 60,000 plus crowd!

The feedback from the day has been fantastic and I think all 20 of the youngsters will remember their special day for years to come!

Here is just one of the many emails we have had as a result:

"Thank for helping to organise the St George's Day Mascot Day on 24/4. My son, Sam, had a fantastic day. The signed ball is in pride of pace in his room and walking onto the pitch will always be in his memory. Please could you also pass on my thanks to Olly Barkley. I am sure he was fairly focused on the game ahead but he absolutely made Sam's day by taking time to chat to Sam and shake his hand - he should never underestimate the impact and difference he made to a very enthusiastic rugby fan and player. Also please let Matt B, Nick A, Michael C & Joe M know that the high fives and thumb's up they gave Sam have been talked about non-stop!"

On behalf of Bath Rugby and the players we would like to also take this chance to thank the children and their families for their contributions to the day. It is always fantastic to have our junior supporters involved in our games and to share in their excitement and enthusiasm.

Please meet the children involved:

James Campion (12) and Will Grant (8) were both nominated by Bath's very own David Barnes as part of his testimonial celebrations.

Benjamin Stratton, 7, lives in Wandsworth, south west London, but is a Bath fan through his family roots in Wiltshire. His first game at the Rec was the recent Christmas fixture against Gloucester where alongside his three uncles and cousins he saw Bath prevail against their great rivals. He is a big fan of robust forward play and his favourite player is Lee Mears.

Ben Faulkner is 13 years old and attends Kennet School in Thatcham, Berkshire. He has watched Bath as a season ticket holder alongside his Dad since 2006 and also attends a number of away games, including the recent great wins at London Irish and Saracens.. His favourite trip to date was to Belfast to see the Bath/Ulster game (despite the weather and the result). He says the best game he ever saw was his first at the Rec in 2006 , when Bath beat Leicester 43-25! His favourite players are Jonny Faamatuainu and Olly Barkley. Ben plays rugby as a loosehead prop in the Newbury RFC Under 13 squad.

Lloyd Partridge has supported Bath for 3 years now, his Aunty lives in Bath and is a great follower of Bath. He has been to see a few matches at the Rec - including the torrential downpour against Toulouse. His favorite players are Butch James, Michael Claassens and Matt Banahan. Lloyd plays tag rugby for a local team. For being quite small in statue he certainly makes up for it in voice - encouraging and tying to organize the team into position. He really enjoys this and is looking forward to be able to play contact rugby in a couple of years. Lloyd will be celebrating his 7th birthday on the 26th April.

Sam Wharmby, 9, is a rugby fanatic - a keen player, as well as a watcher. He vigorously (and noisily) supports both the Bath and England teams, from the pitch-side or from the sofa! He plays very enthusiastically for Salisbury U9s, either as scrum half or as full back.

Joshua Cambourne is 8 years old, will be 9 on 2nd May. He lives in Frome Somerset and attends Beckington First School. He plays rugby for Frome RFC under 9's, particularly enjoying playing scrum-half. He also enjoys playing football, golf and swimming.

Alex Greenhalgh will be 8 on the 28th April and is a keen Bath supporter.
The first game he attended was when he was 3 and he has been going ever since. His favourite player is Butch James. Alex plays for his school which is All Hallows and for Frome RFC.

Oliver Barnes, 7, attends Wansdyke County Primary School in Devizes. Oliver loves rugby and also plays football for Worton and Chevrals under 8's. He is also a fan of fly fishing, cray fishing, motor X, BMX, skate boarding and swimming! He has one sister called Isabelle and a dog named Poppy.

Toby Jarvis, 12, was born in Bath's Royal United Hospital and has been a life long fan of Bath RFC ever since! He currently plays for Tetbury RFC and represents Malmesbury School on the rugby pitch. Recently, through the School, he was privileged to take part in "Playing for Success" at the new Bath Rugby Education Centre during the 2009 Autumn Term and as part of the course he was honoured to meet Scott Hobson and Matt Banahan. Today is made all the more special for him as his father serves in the Royal Air Force and the whole family has helped support the worthy Help For Heroes charity over the last few years. C'mon Bath!

Nicholas Arrell is 14 years old and has supported Bath since before he was born. He enjoys both playing and watching rugby. His favourite position is scrum half and his favourite players are Michael Claassens and Matt Banahan.

Freddy Willmott, 13, is an avid Bath Rugby supporter and loves coming to the Rec. He goes to Woodcote House School and plays for the school 1st XV as hooker. The team has had a great season having lost only 2 matches, winning 9. His favourite player is Lee Mears. His friends from school will be here today ready to cheer him and Bath along.

Chris Harris is 12 years old and attends Wellsway School, Keynsham. He has supported Bath Rugby since he was 7. In his spare time his hobbies are rugby, tennis and badminton. He has played scrum half, outside centre and wing for Keynsham Rugby Club since the age of 8 and really enjoys his rugby, practising whenever and wherever he can. His favourite Bath players are Butch James and Andy Beattie.

Sam Gerrard will be 9 years old in May and attends Grand Avenue Primary School in Surbiton, Surrey. Sam attended his first match at the Rec as a babe in arms, although we are not sure quite how much of the match he saw; he has also attended Bath United matches when they visit London. He is a keen sportsman and watches Bath matches on T.V. sitting on his Grandad's knee whenever they get the chance. One of his prized possessions is an England Rugby shirt signed by Olly Barkley.

Abi Nichols is a very active 10 year old from Deal in Kent. She plays football for her school team and also cross country running. Her hobbies are dancing and swimming.

Elizabeth Robertson, 10, loves judo, she enjoys amateur dramatics and was in the Corsham panto and is a member of the Corsham swimming club.

Ben and Isobel Tidswell are aged 7 and 9 respectively. From Bath the two are avid Bath Rugby supporters and were treated to this very special day out by their Uncle.

Cameron Organ is in his first full year at Ralph Allen school, Bath. He is sport as well as Rugby mad he's played Rugby since tag stages his first club was Avon, he now plays for Ralph Allen, he also plays cricket for our local village team Hinton Charterhouse. Cam's favourite position is centre and he also has the kicking responsibility . Cam practices his kicks in the back garden by kicking the ball over a small fir tree that sits in the middle of the garden. His favourite Bath player is Butch James, he also has been to see many Bath games with me as I am a season ticket holder. He has his picture with Martin Johnston who was attending a Bath game last season, however having a Scottish father has given him a soft spot for Scotland and he has been to Murrayfield to see the All Blacks play Scotland. This is his third visit to Twickenham to see Bath and hopefully the results of the last two visits will be reversed today.

Guy Deverell is just 10 years old and a big Bath rugby fan. He plays rugby at school for the Junior Colts A team and enjoys nothing more than getting thoroughly stuck in! His favourite Bath player is Butch James.

We are sure you all had a fantastic day!