{"id":2090,"date":"2026-06-08T12:08:57","date_gmt":"2026-06-08T11:08:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/on-parade\/?p=2090"},"modified":"2026-06-08T12:08:57","modified_gmt":"2026-06-08T11:08:57","slug":"tom-doughty-on-how-bath-led-him-to-professional-rugby","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/on-parade\/2026\/06\/08\/tom-doughty-on-how-bath-led-him-to-professional-rugby\/","title":{"rendered":"Tom Doughty on how Bath led him to professional rugby"},"content":{"rendered":"

Former professional rugby player Tom Doughty (BSc Sports Performance 2019) on how Bath\u2019s rugby programme shaped his career.<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

This interview was originally conducted as part of our BA2 magazine feature,\u00a0<\/span><\/b>Inside Bath\u2019s rugby machine, <\/span><\/i>out now.<\/a><\/b><\/p>\n

Take us back to the beginning. When did you first start playing rugby?<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

I played from\u00a0a very young\u00a0age at my local club, Hove RFC. I\u00a0went through the local club route: club, school, county. I was with the Harlequins development programme for a while, but they released me when I was about 14. When you get dropped from a programme like that,\u00a0you think your rugby career\u00a0is\u00a0over.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

But I continued playing for club and county, played for Southeast England and then England Counties, and it was\u00a0actually from\u00a0there that I thought university rugby could be a route back into the professional game.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Did\u00a0the rugby programme\u00a0influence your decision to\u00a0choose\u00a0Bath?<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Definitely.\u00a0For me, going to\u00a0university\u00a0was a pathway to get into professional rugby.\u00a0I\u2019d\u00a0spoken to Aaron James\u00a0(Head of Rugby), and he sold me the programme,\u00a0explaining\u00a0how they were trying to make\u00a0the programme\u00a0more professional, and the potential\u00a0link-up with Bath Rugby. I saw it as a good avenue to get some exposure and be seen by a Premiership club.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

What was the programme like when you arrived?<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

It was\u00a0my\u00a0first taste of being in a proper programme \u2014 more than just training a couple of times a week and playing on the weekend. Training daily,\u00a0gym sessions and\u00a0meetings\u00a0about the game every Wednesday.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

It was an\u00a0introduction to what a full-time programme could look like. Having access not just to the rugby coaches, but to physios and S&C coaches \u2014 there were always different avenues to try and make yourself better. I loved every aspect of it.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

You were there before BUCS Super Rugby launched. How did that change things?<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

When BUCS Super Rugby came in, there was a lot of excitement around university\u00a0rugby. The games were\u00a0being\u00a0live streamed\u00a0on YouTube,\u00a0and it suddenly felt like there were more eyes on\u00a0us.\u00a0It was amazing as a young player trying to make a name for himself.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

You captained the side in the first BUCS Super Rugby season. What did that mean to you?<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

It was a massive honour. I love leading people out \u2014 it\u00a0also helps my individual performance. We had a\u00a0strong\u00a0squad that year, a lot of boys\u00a0who\u2019d\u00a0been in and around the first team for a couple of years and a good intake of\u00a0new players.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

We prided ourselves on being a tight-knit group. That culture \u2014 everyone supporting everyone, no matter what team you were in \u2014 was something Aaron\u00a0James\u00a0built from the top and the senior players carried forward.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

How\u00a0would you describe\u00a0the coaching at Bath?<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Honestly,\u00a0Aaron\u00a0is\u00a0one of the best\u00a0people\u00a0I\u2019ve\u00a0ever met. He\u00a0truly cared\u00a0about everyone as human beings, not just rugby players. He used to get onto me about going to my lectures, making sure I was doing the right thing outside of rugby as well as inside it.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

I\u2019d\u00a0been in clubs before and since, and everywhere you go you form good friendships and people care. But at Bath, for\u00a0probably the\u00a0first time,\u00a0I felt that care\u00a0extended beyond the pitch. He created a\u00a0great\u00a0culture where performance and the person were equally important. I take my hat off to him for that.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

You signed for the Bath Rugby Academy in your final year while still captaining the\u00a0University side. What was that period like?<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

I\u2019ll\u00a0be honest \u2014 I was knackered!\u00a0I\u2019d\u00a0play on a Wednesday for the\u00a0University, having trained with Bath Rugby on the Tuesday. Then\u00a0I\u2019d\u00a0train with Bath Rugby again on the Thursday.\u00a0On top of that, I was working as a bouncer a few nights a week to get some extra cash.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Some nights\u00a0I\u2019d\u00a0finish work at three in the morning and be training a few hours later. If I tried to do that now,\u00a0it\u2019d\u00a0probably kill\u00a0me. But at the time I was young, chasing a dream, and I\u00a0didn\u2019t\u00a0see it as a hardship.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Was the communication between the two sides\u00a0well managed?<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Really well.\u00a0Everyone was very understanding.\u00a0Lecturers worked with me when I\u00a0couldn\u2019t\u00a0get to things because of training. And it was decided that even though\u00a0I\u2019d\u00a0signed my contract, I was still going to play for the\u00a0University while training with Bath Rugby.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

How important was your time at Bath in making the step to professional rugby?<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

For me it was everything. If I\u00a0hadn\u2019t\u00a0ended up at\u00a0the\u00a0University\u00a0of Bath, under the watchful eye of Aaron James and Mark Lilley, and if they\u00a0hadn\u2019t\u00a0pushed\u00a0for opportunities for me with Bath Rugby \u2014 I\u00a0probably\u00a0wouldn\u2019t\u00a0have ended up\u00a0playing professionally.\u00a0I owe them loads.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

What were the highlights of your professional career?<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Two stand out. Making my Premiership debut \u2014 because\u00a0I\u2019d\u00a0worked so hard for so long to get there.\u00a0When I finally played, I ended up getting about 60 minutes because the starting hooker got injured. It was on\u00a0telly, all my family and friends were watching, and I just remember thinking: after all of that, here we are.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0\"\"<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

And then playing in Europe \u2014 against Leinster\u00a0and\u00a0La Rochelle, these huge clubs I used to watch. You never think\u00a0you\u2019ll\u00a0get there. <\/span>That was\u00a0probably the\u00a0peak of it.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

You recently announced your retirement. How did you come to that decision?<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

It\u00a0wasn\u2019t\u00a0easy \u2014\u00a0I\u2019m\u00a029.\u00a0I\u00a0was getting lots of injuries that I\u00a0wasn\u2019t\u00a0getting before\u00a0and\u00a0taking longer to recover.\u00a0It just came to a natural cooling.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Rugby doesn\u2019t last forever, and I was very happy with what I\u2019d achieved. I felt like I\u2019d done everything I could to put myself in the best position, but other factors meant it just wasn\u2019t going my way.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

What are you doing now?<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

I gave myself some time off, went on a few holidays,\u00a0and\u00a0fell asleep on a lot of sunbeds. Then I somehow blagged myself a job in the city as an oil broker, and\u00a0I\u2019m\u00a0loving it. Every day is different and exciting, and if you\u00a0don\u2019t\u00a0work\u00a0hard,\u00a0you\u00a0don\u2019t\u00a0do well,\u00a0which suits my personality down to the ground.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

I still\u00a0help\u00a0with\u00a0coaching\u00a0at my local club back in Hove when I can, and some of my best friends are still playing, so\u00a0I\u2019m\u00a0still very connected to the rugby world. But I\u00a0won\u2019t\u00a0be killing myself on the pitch anymore!<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

When you saw Bath win the BUCS Super Rugby title this year, what did that mean to you?<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

I\u2019m\u00a0incredibly happy for\u00a0them.\u00a0Aaron and the team have\u00a0worked so hard to build\u00a0the\u00a0programme. They deserve every bit of recognition\u00a0they\u2019ve\u00a0got this year.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Finally, what advice would you give to a student arriving at Bath this September who wants to go professional?<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

It\u00a0doesn\u2019t\u00a0come easily. Sometimes you think\u00a0you\u2019re\u00a0working hard and\u00a0you\u2019re\u00a0not.\u00a0I\u2019d\u00a0say for a lot of my university experience, I\u00a0didn\u2019t\u00a0enjoy it like a typical student would \u2014 training and working hard towards that goal was the reason I was there. But\u00a0it\u2019s\u00a0worth it. And use every bit of what Bath gives you \u2014 the coaches, the facilities, the link with Bath Rugby. Not everyone gets that.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Read more about the rugby programme at Bath in the latest edition of BA2.<\/span><\/i><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Former professional rugby player Tom Doughty (BSc Sports Performance 2019) on how Bath\u2019s rugby programme shaped his career.\u00a0 This interview was originally conducted as part of our BA2 magazine feature,\u00a0Inside Bath\u2019s rugby machine, out now. Take us back to the...<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2002,"featured_media":2091,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[123,180],"tags":[103,26],"class_list":["post-2090","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-ddar-staff-spotlight","category-features","tag-rugby","tag-sport"],"acf":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/on-parade\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/48\/2026\/06\/Parade-profile-header-47.png","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/on-parade\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2090","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/on-parade\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/on-parade\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/on-parade\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2002"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/on-parade\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2090"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/on-parade\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2090\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/on-parade\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2091"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/on-parade\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2090"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/on-parade\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2090"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/on-parade\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2090"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}