Bath is famed for its rugby union team, who have claimed six English Premiership titles, a Heineken Cup and a European Challenge Cup in their illustrious history.
But not many locals know that there is a rugby league side representing the city that is also enjoying its fair share of success.
Bath Rugby League were crowned West of England champions last season, and they will be looking for more success in 2019 when the new campaign kicks off later in the year.
Once again they will be taking on the cream of the crop from the South West of England, and if they can enjoy further success then the club is confident of climbing the National Rugby League pyramid.
Of course, they are a long way from competing in Britain’s premier competition, the Super League, which welcomes the very best teams from England and the finest from France.
And there are more rungs to the ladder, including the Championship, League 1 and the Conference, that the Bath based outfit would have to climb.
But every dream has to start somewhere, and given the success the club has enjoyed in recent times who’s to say what their ceiling can be?
The South Looking to End Northern Domination
A sport that has long been dominated by teams from the north of the country, it would surely help the national appeal of rugby league if more sides representing the south, east and west could assert some dominance.
The Super League, for instance, is dominated by sides from in and around Yorkshire, Lancashire and the northeast. The sole southern representative is London Broncos, who after a hiatus in the lower leagues of the sport finally returned to the top flight with a win over the Toronto Wolfpack in the Championship play-off.
In the second tier of the Rugby League pyramid, there are no representatives from outside of the north of the country – other than Toronto and Toulouse Olympique, and once again it is unsurprising that the sport is yet to really make waves in the lower reaches of the UK.
There is wider participation in League 1, with the likes of Coventry Bears and London Skolars and a couple of teams from Wales, and the sooner they can climb the ladder the better.
For now, Bath Rugby League remain as one of the west of the country’s key hopes for national recognition in the sport.
St Helens Look to End Five-Year Drought
The 2019 Super League campaign is underway, and St Helens are making all the running with a perfect start.
Their five wins from five have lifted the Merseysiders clear in the early league table, and the bookmakers have them down as the betting favourites in the rugby league odds to end a five-year wait for Super League glory.
James Roby winning games for St Helens…
Confirmed: Super League is back. #SLStHWig pic.twitter.com/nMaE5eRNXQ
— bet365 (@bet365) January 31, 2019
That said, there is a long way to go before the teams that make up the playoff series, and latterly the Grand Final, are known.
But it doesn’t look good for the south’s sole representative, the London Broncos, who have won just one of their opening six matches.