Whether it’s fixing a leaking tap or replacing a door lock, Bath Rugby players are used to calling in the professionals to prevent DIY disasters.
But in a bid to reduce their reliance on the expertise of others, the players are taking an evening course to learn the basics of home improvement.
Instead of dialling the phone numbers of plumbers and carpenters, the players want to start doing work around their homes themselves.
The ten-week Property Maintenance course has been drawn up by City of Bath College with the needs of the rugby players in mind.
The hands-on course covers plumbing, woodwork, tiling, bricklaying, rendering and plastering, with players learning how to fit door hinges and handles, cut skirting board and change taps and washers.
The seven first-team players on the course are Ross Batty, Dave Attwood, Guy Mercer, Simon Taylor, Nick Koster, Mat Gilbert and Sam Vesty.
Dave Attwood said he was renovating his house and needed all the help he could get to prevent home improvement mishaps.
He said: “The course is proving to be very useful, we are getting a good idea how to tackle things. If something needed to be done, I would call my Dad first and if Dad couldn’t fix it, I’d pay for a professional.
“Now I’m getting the practical knowledge of how to do things myself.”
Dave added that his friends were “giving him a bit of abuse” about “going back to school”.
He said: “They do think it’s amusing, but they won’t be laughing at us for long. I have already had some phone calls asking for help with jobs around their homes.”
Sam Vestry said the course was “already working” as he had already bled his radiators after learning it in class.
He said: “When those little things go wrong around the house, we tend to get someone in to do the work. But we’d like that to change, we want to give it a go ourselves. If something happens, we want to be able to fix it.”
Bath Rugby’s Player Development Manager Richard Bryan, from the Rugby Players’ Association, said they wanted to cater for the players’ interests outside of rugby.
He said: “The players were keen to learn some new DIY skills and so the aim has been to give the players a taste of the different property maintenance based courses on offer at the City of Bath College.
“We hope they enjoy the sessions, pick up new skills and ignite some interest in developing some of those skills further.
“Whilst some of them will restrict their new found skills to their own home, we might unearth a budding carpenter or two in the process.
“The City of Bath College staff have been fantastic and deserve a big thank you for putting in substantial time, effort and resources to tailor the course to the needs of the players.”
Daisy Walsh, Head of Engineering, Construction and Computing at City of Bath College, said: “It’s been great fun putting together a customised programme for the Bath Rugby Club.
“The tutors and players have had significant input so we have been able to create a course of interest and most importantly of practical use.
“We really hope the players will want to continue developing their property maintenance skills and we’re always happy to create another course especially for them”
The course consists of plumbing and carpentry lessons at City of Bath College, then bricklaying, plastering and tiling at Norton Radstock College.
