Bath Rugby’s Charlie Ewels has today been confirmed as Club captain ahead of the first home fixture of the 2019/20 campaign.
The homegrown second row has taken over the responsibility from Matt Garvey who served in the role for the past two seasons.
Ewels is a product of the Club’s Academy and Regional Player Pathway and today’s news confirms Bath Rugby is delivering on its ambition to develop a core senior squad, comprising of at least 50% homegrown talent by 2023.
“It’s a huge honour - coming through the Academy setup, this is my Club, the only one I’ve ever known and the only one I’ve wanted to play for.
“As captain, I run out of the tunnel first, but you’d be naïve to think one guy can lead a team on his own. We have an emerging group of leaders who all drive standards. A number of our guys have captained our team on a match day and know what it’s all about. You need strong leaders around you and guys who believe in the same things and understand what we’re trying to achieve. This is all starting to form for us now and I’m fortunate to have a great group of players around me that can help me play my best rugby too,” commented Ewels.
The 24-year-old, who has 12 international caps and has just returned from training with England’s World Cup Squad is a natural leader having skippered Bath on 10 occasions during the 2018/19 season.
Director of Rugby, Stuart Hooper added: “I have known Charlie for his entire playing career and to see him progress to captain is incredibly humbling. Having served in the role myself, I have a strong view of what it means and I believe Charlie is the type of person who will bring the very best out of this group.
Being captain of a Premiership Club is never just about you, it’s always about the people around you. It’s about how you lead the group to a place you all believe in, influencing and organising, whilst continually growing and developing.”
Ewels joined Bath Rugby’s Regional Player Pathway in 2009 and made his Bath Rugby debut against Glasgow Warriors in the European Rugby Champions Cup in November 2014.
He was a key member of the England U20 team who won the Junior World Cup against South Africa in 2014. One year later, Ewels experienced a World Cup Final as captain against New Zealand U20s, leading current Bath Rugby teammates Jack Walker and Max Clark to the final.
Ewels will walk out his side for the first time this season on Saturday at the Rec for the opening home game of the season against Worcester Warriors.
