Case Study : Bath Rugby

Co-ordinated Coaching

Coaches at Bath Rugby require robust, reliable radios providing excellent voice clarity to co-ordinate training sessions and communicate at matches. Tait radios supplied by Chatterbox provide the solution.

The Client

Founded in 1865, Bath Rugby is one of the oldest and most successful clubs in existence. Today Bath Rugby is a professional rugby union club, competing in the Avivia Premiership. Bath's home ground is the Recreation Ground ("The Rec"), a 14,509 capacity stadium in the centre of Bath.

The Challenge

When former All Black captain Todd Blackadder, one of the most highly regarded coaches in world rugby, was appointed Director of Rugby at Bath in July 2016 he wanted to commission a robust radio solution for the coaches and support teams. Logic Wireless supplies the Crusaders Super Rugby franchise, probably the most famous club in New Zealand, with two-way radios. Todd and Head Coach Tabai Matson were familiar with Logic from their time at the Crusaders, so it was natural that they would approach Logic for a radio solution for Bath Rugby. Bath Rugby coaches use their radios every working day for training sessions and for matches both home and away. The Club had two specific requirements for their radios:

Voice clarity. The radios are being used outside, often in noisy environments.
Robustness. Coaches use the radios in all weathers; the radios must be rugged enough to handle harsh environments (and a little accidental rough treatment).

"The use of two-way radios makes it easier for the coaching and support team at Bath Rugby to communicate and be more effective, both in training and on match days. Their use is a no-brainer for me. They are a necessary tool for us."

Todd Blackadder Director of Rugby, Bath Rugby

Co-ordinated Coaching

The use of radios on training days enables the coaches to work independently, splitting players into groups to focus on specific training, yet still remain in contact with each other to co-ordinate the session. On match days the radios allow the coaches to move around and assess play from different angles while discussing the team's performance in real time with their colleagues.

"We aim to work collaboratively with dealers and their clients to develop solutions, as we have done with our unique ruggedised charging case."

Guy Hopkins Director, Logic Wireless Europe Ltd

The System

Each of the five coaches has a Tait TP9310 handset with its own charger and their choice of earpiece, D-shell or in-ear, supplied by Chatterbox. Each of these five radios is a different colour (red, yellow, green, orange and black), for easy identification and for health and safety, preventing the likelihood of coaches inadvertently swapping radios, which may have hygiene implications.

"The radios supplied by Logic have been fantastic. They are hugely efficient in terms of sound quality – a big plus on a noisy match day to make sure the messages we want to get across are being relayed accurately – and they are robust enough to withstand all weather conditions and treatment they may have to work in."

Tabai Matson Head Coach, Bath Rugby

Chatterbox also supplied 12 black Tait TP9310 radios for use by the medical team, strength and conditioning crew, kit manager and team manager on match days. These come as two sets of six radios in a ruggedised charging case designed by Logic specifically for this type of application. The radios and earpieces store neatly in the cases. The radios slot into intelligent charging docks, and between fixtures the case simply plugs in to charge all the enclosed units.

Tait prides itself on the robustness of its radios. The TP9310 DMR Tier 2 portable is designed specifically to be tough enough to survive demanding environments whilst providing excellent audio clarity. It is engineered to meet the IP67 rating and uses noise reducing digital technology to ensure voice quality.

"Logic supporting Chatterbox is very beneficial to our business and we welcome their collaborative approach."

Gary Leatherby Managing Director, Chatterbox Ltd