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The 42
18-05-2025
- Sport
- The 42
'I'm very proud of my time in Leinster but I needed something different'
AMONG THE BIGGEST differences between playing for Leinster and playing with Bath is the out-half. Ross Molony, who joined the Premiership club on a three-year deal last summer, took a while to get to grips with the man in the number 10 shirt. But he and Finn Russell have struck up a good relationship this season as Molony has settled into life in England strongly. The Irish lock has played for Johann van Graan's side 22 times, starting 12 games. Molony hopes to help Bath to win the Challenge Cup when they take on Lyon in Friday night's final in Cardiff. The English side also have their sights set on the Premiership title, having secured top spot in the regular season table ahead of the semi-finals. Molony is well known as a lineout specialist and Russell is Bath's tactical leader on the pitch, so they've been working closely together. 'He's so different from what I would have been used to with 10s throughout my years of playing back in Dublin,' says 31-year-old Molony. 'I went to school with Ross [Byrne], played with him the whole way up, and, you know, Ross is very detail-based and drives a lot of detail around him, and has his plan. He's an incredible competitor and then you look at others like Johnny [Sexton] who are similar. 'Then you flip that to Finn, who's eating sweets before he goes out for the warm-up. 'But at the same time, he has such a competitive nature about him and yes, he does it in a relaxed way, but you still get the same output.' Molony laughs as he remembers one example of Russell's laid-back approach. 'We were having a discussion before the Leinster game in Dublin [in January] and it was around the first play we would use. 'I was like, 'What are you thinking for the first play?' and he said, 'Oh, we'll do this one.' I was like, 'Yeah, spot on.' 'They're normal conversations you have. But then he said, 'Either [Garry] Ringrose bites in and we get him on the edge, or he gets an intercept. Either way, it's entertainment.' 'In my head, I'm like, 'I don't know if he's serious or not.' But that's brilliant. So different, so different. Then at the same time, he just drives standards in the way he conducts himself and the way he plays and he delivers a performance.' Molony with Bath boss Johann van Graan. Alamy Stock Photo Alamy Stock Photo It's one example of why Molony is enjoying himself so much in Bath, having decided to do something different after nine years and 184 appearances for his native Leinster. He always knew a move to England was possible at some stage in his career as he is English-qualified, a big attraction for Premiership clubs. For that, he has to thank his grandfather, Jack Molony, an Irish doctor who was on rotation in the English town of Buxton for just three months. Ross' dad, Kevin, was born during that brief stint. That, in turn, means Ross is entitled to a UK passport and opened the door for a move to the Premiership. It had only been a thought in the back of Molony's mind as he took huge pride in becoming an important senior figure in the Leinster set-up, but he and his agent, Niall Woods, began to explore other options in the autumn of 2023. Rumours of RG Snyman's move to Leinster the following summer were rumbling, while the likes of James Ryan and Joe McCarthy were also important to Leinster in the second row. Advertisement Bath boss Johann van Graan asked Molony to meet him in November. 'Initial impressions, unbelievably impressive,' says Molony of the former Munster head coach. 'He had a plan of what he wanted to build around him, which he had obviously started the year before. 'Johann has an incredible relationship with staff, with players, with fans in Bath as well. 'The thing that impressed me most is how driven he was and how driven he wanted the club to be.' Bath hadn't won a trophy since 2008. Van Graan was determined to change that and had already set about transforming their squad. Molony liked the vision but still faced an agonising decision. He could have stayed in Leinster. It was late February when the second row made his final call to opt for something new in Bath. Molony understandably doesn't want to get into the nitty-gritty of negotiations with Leinster, and he has only positive things to say about the province now. 'I have so much respect for them and I'm very proud of my time in Leinster. I have no bad blood there whatsoever. I guess it got to a point where, for me, in terms of my career, I needed something different. 'Leinster had made a couple of signings around then, or maybe rumoured to have made a couple of signings. 'There are also some incredible players who I had played with there in my position. So I guess for me, the reality of it is that if I stayed in Leinster, I probably wouldn't have played as much rugby as I have this year. 'To be honest, I haven't looked back on that decision and I've really enjoyed it here.' Joe McCarthy and Molony after Bath visited Leinster in January. Ben Brady / INPHO Ben Brady / INPHO / INPHO The move to Bath means some of Molony's family have switched allegiances too. His granny, Anne Mannion of Balla in Mayo, used to bravely fly a Leinster flag in her front garden. Now she's got a Bath flag on display. On the other side of the family, Ross' cousin, Liam Molony, is a back row in the Leinster academy and another cousin, Charlie Molony, has impressed on the wing for the Ireland U20s this season. Ross has been happy to offer advice anywhere he can as they look to plot their routes to the top. These days, Molony lives in a picturesque village just outside Bath, half an hour's commute from the rugby club's stunning training facility at Farleigh House, a grand old English country house in the Somerset countryside. Molony says he nearly has to pinch himself driving in each morning. Bath's owner, Bruce Craig, is a regular presence around the set-up and it's evident to the players that he enjoys watching the club's progress. The Irish second row settled into life with Bath quickly. Indeed, Molony was being praised publicly by out-half Russell very early in the season for his ability to organise fellow forwards in phase-play attack, something he excelled at with Leinster. Bath wanted Molony to bring fresh ideas into the group from Leinster, but he was cognisant of not overstepping the mark or seeming pushy early on. 'Before I came over, I wanted to seek advice on that,' says Molony. 'I actually met Goody – Andrew Goodman [now Ireland and Lions assistant coach] – over a pint because he was a player in Leinster, went back to the Crusaders as a coach, then came back to Leinster. 'I guess I was like, 'How do you go from two successful clubs and integrate yourself while sharing what knowledge you have, but not being a dickhead about it?'' Goodman stressed to Molony that building relationships and getting to know his team-mates as quickly as possible was crucial. It has helped that Molony is such a lineout expert. Leinster have missed him badly in this regard. He has enjoyed working with Bath forwards coach Richard Blaze, a former second row, and his fellow lock, England international Charlie Ewels. 'It's a very enjoyable dynamic because you've basically got three lineout nerds who work together to plan out a week, so that's magic,' says Molony. 'And we have some big units to do the shoving and the pushing!' Former Ireland lock Quinn Roux, who was still in Leinster when Molony joined the academy, is among those big units in Bath, while ex-Ireland U20s captain and hooker Niall Annett is also with the club. Molony is a highly-regarded lineout caller. Juan Gasparini / INPHO Juan Gasparini / INPHO / INPHO While Molony is clearly adding a lot to the Bath set-up, he's also enjoying how the club is pushing him to improve. He has been challenged by the 'brilliant' strength and conditioning staff to bring more explosive moments later in games. Match days in Bath are 'mad.' Molony sometimes feels a dash of jealousy when he's heading off for games while visiting family and friends enjoy the build-up. The squad meet in a hotel near The Rec and walk to the stadium together, passing through the 'tunnel of noise' created by supporters. The Premiership has been a welcome change of scene, Molony enjoying the varying tactical questions that the likes of Leicester, Harlequins, and Sale pose. Bath are flying high and are favourites to claim their first English title, having ended their 17-year trophy drought by winning the Premiership Rugby Cup in March. There was disappointment in failing to get into the Champions Cup knock-out stages, although it was a fiendishly difficult pool-stage for Bath as they faced La Rochelle, Leinster, Clermont, and Benetton. 'It was tough because my whole career has been, you know, in love with the Champions Cup,' says Molony. 'European rugby was like the pinnacle of the club game for me.' He has no doubt that everyone in Bath feels the same, but they lost at home to La Rochelle in their opening game, were pipped by a late Benetton try in Italy, beat Clermont, but then lost away to Leinster. Molony also felt Leinster's pain recently when they lost in the Champions Cup semi-finals to Northampton. 'I know what they're going through, having gone through that myself. I know how much that will hurt the lads and I'm gutted for them on a personal level because they're my mates as well.' Bath plan on being Champions Cup contenders in the coming years, but the Challenge Cup has been enjoyable to play in after they dropped down this season. They aim to seal silverware on Friday night at the Principality Stadium. Molony's parents will be there and his good friend from Leinster, Ed Byrne, who is now playing for Cardiff, hopes to make it along with his wife, Rebecca. There are a couple of mates living in London who might be there too. So Molony could have a few special weeks ahead at the end of the first season of his three-year deal in Bath. He looks back on leaving Leinster without any regret. 'I'm really enjoying my time here and this group, it's a very competitive group. 'It's a very driven group and hopefully there's some good times ahead.'
Yahoo
27-04-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Gloucester batter Exeter in record-breaking West Country derby victory
Premiership punishment beatings do not come much heavier than this record-breaking West Country derby annihilation. There was absolutely nowhere for Exeter to hide on this bright but brutal Sunday in Gloucestershire as a rampant home side rattled up 13 tries to revitalise their ambitions of making the playoffs and inflict the heaviest defeat in the Chiefs' top-division history. It would have been a proper cricket score had the Cherry and Whites not missed half a dozen conversions and it was all but inevitable from an early stage that the Chiefs'previous widest losing margin of 43 points would be blown away. Being booed by the Shed is one thing, hearing laughter ring around the ground is another level of embarrassment. Advertisement The club's chair, Tony Rowe, could been seen laying down the line in the Chiefs' dressing room after the game, clearly stung by this non-performance from a team theoretically building for next season. 'That was my worst day as a coach,' said the head coach, Rob Hunter, part of the backroom staff who helped Exeter win the European and domestic double just five years ago. 'It's in no way acceptable for us to perform like that and we haven't tried to hide away from that in the changing-room. 'Tony's entirely entitled to come in and fire in to everybody. He's put a lot of time and effort into the club and everyone's expectations should be way, way higher than that. Fair play to Gloucester but we gifted them momentum at almost every opportunity.' While last week's defeat at Saracens put a slight dent in the Cherry and Whites top-four aspirations, no one will be in a rush to face George Skivington's side on this kind of form. With three games still to play – away to Quins and Newcastle and at home to Northampton – they currently sit one point behind fourth-placed Bristol and two points ahead of sixth-placed Saracens. In addition to the outstanding Wales scrum-half Tomos Williams and the deadly duo of Jack Singleton and Seb Atkinson, who contributed five tries between them, the watching England head coach Steve Borthwick will also have taken due note of several hard-working English-qualified forwards who must be pushing hard for loftier recognition. Hooker Seb Blake has been a handful all season while backrowers Jack Clement and Lewis Ludlow and prop Afo Fasogbon also caught the eye in a vibrant team performance. Advertisement To say nothing went right for the Chiefs would be to put it politely. They had apparently enjoyed an upbeat training week but any semblance of confidence was eviscerated by six Cherry and White tries inside the first half hour. Two powerful driven mauls brought scores for Jack Clement and Seb Blake before the floodgates truly opened and some extravagant offloading delivered a smashing try for a delighted Lewis Ludlow. Download the Guardian app from the iOS App Store on iPhone or the Google Play store on Android by searching for 'The Guardian'. If you already have the Guardian app, make sure you're on the most recent version. In the Guardian app, tap the Menu button at the bottom right, then go to Settings (the gear icon), then Notifications. Turn on sport notifications. The Shed was soon purring again in the sunshine as Chris Harris, Seb Atkinson and Gareth Anscombe added further tries to extend the margin to 36-0. Exeter did belatedly string together a few attacking phases in the opposing 22, which allowed Josh Hodge to put his side belatedly on the board, but the slickness of Gloucester's handling, the inability of Chiefs to slow the ball down and some ineffectual tackling all combined to ensure a lopsided contest. Perhaps the most outrageous assist of the lot was a 30-yard pass over the top from Williams to his left wing, Jake Morris, which sailed over the heads of multiple opponents and ended with Santiago Carreras sending Williams himself over. Gloucester are not perfect but their attack coach James Lightfoot-Brown has clearly been doing some excellent work. It was much the same story after the interval as Jamal Ford-Robinson and Christian Wade, via Carreras's unselfish assist, brought up Gloucester's half-century inside 50 minutes. Wade is off to play rugby league in Wigan where he will find life a whole lot tougher. Even the massed cavalry off the bench made little difference for the visitors, the defence melting away faster than left-over Easter eggs in the sun to permit a second try for Atkinson and more easy pickings for Singleton who collected a hat-trick of tries inside 12 minutes. Even the most exhausted London Marathon runners will feel less shattered than the Chiefs when they limp back to work this week. 'The reality is that good vibes are not enough,' stressed Hunter. 'We definitely went a little bit missing. Not having a game next week is probably a good thing for us. We're not going to brush past this.'
The Guardian
27-04-2025
- Sport
- The Guardian
Gloucester batter Exeter in record-breaking West Country derby victory
Premiership punishment beatings do not come much heavier than this record-breaking West Country derby annihilation. There was absolutely nowhere for Exeter to hide on this bright but brutal Sunday in Gloucestershire as a rampant home side rattled up 13 tries to revitalise their ambitions of making the playoffs and inflict the heaviest defeat in the Chiefs' top-division history. It would have been a proper cricket score had the Cherry and Whites not missed half a dozen conversions and it was all but inevitable from an early stage that the Chiefs'previous widest losing margin of 43 points would be blown away. Being booed by the Shed is one thing, hearing laughter ring around the ground is another level of embarrassment. The club's chair, Tony Rowe, could been seen laying down the line in the Chiefs' dressing room after the game, clearly stung by this non-performance from a team theoretically building for next season. 'That was my worst day as a coach,' said the head coach, Rob Hunter, part of the backroom staff who helped Exeter win the European and domestic double just five years ago. 'It's in no way acceptable for us to perform like that and we haven't tried to hide away from that in the changing-room. 'Tony's entirely entitled to come in and fire in to everybody. He's put a lot of time and effort into the club and everyone's expectations should be way, way higher than that. Fair play to Gloucester but we gifted them momentum at almost every opportunity.' While last week's defeat at Saracens put a slight dent in the Cherry and Whites top-four aspirations, no one will be in a rush to face George Skivington's side on this kind of form. With three games still to play – away to Quins and Newcastle and at home to Northampton – they currently sit one point behind fourth-placed Bristol and two points ahead of sixth-placed Saracens. In addition to the outstanding Wales scrum-half Tomos Williams and the deadly duo of Jack Singleton and Seb Atkinson, who contributed five tries between them, the watching England head coach Steve Borthwick will also have taken due note of several hard-working English-qualified forwards who must be pushing hard for loftier recognition. Hooker Seb Blake has been a handful all season while backrowers Jack Clement and Lewis Ludlow and prop Afo Fasogbon also caught the eye in a vibrant team performance. To say nothing went right for the Chiefs would be to put it politely. They had apparently enjoyed an upbeat training week but any semblance of confidence was eviscerated by six Cherry and White tries inside the first half hour. Two powerful driven mauls brought scores for Jack Clement and Seb Blake before the floodgates truly opened and some extravagant offloading delivered a smashing try for a delighted Lewis Ludlow. The Shed was soon purring again in the sunshine as Chris Harris, Seb Atkinson and Gareth Anscombe added further tries to extend the margin to 36-0. Exeter did belatedly string together a few attacking phases in the opposing 22, which allowed Josh Hodge to put his side on the board, but the slickness of Gloucester's handling, the inability of Chiefs to slow the ball down and some ineffectual tackling all combined to ensure a lopsided contest. Sign up to The Breakdown The latest rugby union news and analysis, plus all the week's action reviewed after newsletter promotion Perhaps the most outrageous assist of the lot was a 30-yard pass over the top from Williams to his left wing, Jake Morris, which sailed over the heads of multiple opponents and ended with Santiago Carreras sending Williams himself over. Gloucester are not perfect but their attack coach James Lightfoot-Brown has clearly been doing some excellent work. It was much the same story after the interval as Jamal Ford-Robinson and Christian Wade, via Carreras's unselfish assist, brought up Gloucester's half-century inside 50 minutes. Wade is off to play rugby league in Wigan where he will find life a whole lot tougher. Even the massed cavalry off the bench made little difference for the visitors, the defence melting away faster than left-over Easter eggs in the sun to permit a second try for Atkinson and more easy pickings for Singleton who collected a hat-trick of tries inside 12 minutes. Even the most exhausted London Marathon runners will feel less shattered than the Chiefs when they limp back to work this week. 'The reality is that good vibes are not enough,' stressed Hunter. 'We definitely went a little bit missing. Not having a game next week is probably a good thing for us. We're not going to brush past this.'
Yahoo
26-03-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Exeter back John agrees new contract
Exeter back Dan John has agreed a new contract with the Premiership club. The 23-year-old former Wales youth international has played 19 times for the Chiefs in all competitions. He has also spent time on dual registration at Championship side Cornish Pirates. Injuries have restricted John to just two appearances this season - one in the league and one in the Premiership Rugby Cup. "Dan really started to impress towards the tail end of last season," Exeter director of rugby Rob Baxter told BBC Sport. "When we've been looking to introduce him into the team and him having opportunities he's actually picked up a couple of niggling injuries over the course of the season. "He's still a guy we see fitting into our back three, he gives us some strength in depth there going forward. "He's a young player who we feel is still improving, so all of those things are good indicators for us that it would be good to keep him around, "I think he's becomes EQP (an English-qualified player) at some stage this season as well, which is obviously another benefit to us, so there's lots of reasons for us to keep working with him and for him to be an ambitious part of plans going forward."
BBC News
26-03-2025
- Sport
- BBC News
Exeter back John agrees new contract
Exeter back Dan John has agreed a new contract with the Premiership 23-year-old former Wales youth international has played 19 times for the Chiefs in all has also spent time on dual registration at Championship side Cornish Pirates. Injuries have restricted John to just two appearances this season - one in the league and one in the Premiership Rugby Cup. "Dan really started to impress towards the tail end of last season," Exeter director of rugby Rob Baxter told BBC Sport."When we've been looking to introduce him into the team and him having opportunities he's actually picked up a couple of niggling injuries over the course of the season."He's still a guy we see fitting into our back three, he gives us some strength in depth there going forward."He's a young player who we feel is still improving, so all of those things are good indicators for us that it would be good to keep him around,"I think he's becomes EQP (an English-qualified player) at some stage this season as well, which is obviously another benefit to us, so there's lots of reasons for us to keep working with him and for him to be an ambitious part of plans going forward."
