Guy Mercer’s rise from Rec super-fan to star man

Having watched his heroes from the terraces at The Rec as a starry-eyed youngster, home-grown flanker Guy Mercer is relishing the chance to create a few positive playing memories of his own in the blue, black and white hoops of Bath.
A graduate of the Bath academy, Mercer was educated in Bath at King Edward's School, an establishment that has strong links with the city's rugby club through fellow former pupil Henry Thomas and past players such as England internationals Geoff Frankcom, Andy Robinson and John Palmer, who all taught there, and, in more recent times, Chris Goodman.
Mercer played a blinder in the record 45-0 win over Leicester and is starting to string together a good run of games in a back-row shorn of Francois Louw, Matt Garvey and Carl Fearns through injury.
“Every time I play for the club I try and stamp my mark on things and leave a lasting impression,” he told TRP.
“One of the good things is that Fordy (head coach, Mike Ford) judges all the boys on merit.
“So if you get an opportunity and you play well, I don't think who you are, where you have been and what you have done in the past is going to count for too long because he is all about Bath being competitive in the here and the now.
“If I have a good game – and Leicester was probably my proudest moment in a Bath jersey – I can be confident that he is going to consider me.
“My family have been season ticket holders for years so it is nice they can now watch me play,” he added.
“It's great that I'm able to be involved in some memorable moments and matches as a player, having experienced plenty as a fan.
“I used to sit in the open East Stand whenever I wasn't playing school or local club rugby, and I'll never forget being at The Rec the night Elvis Seveali'i kept us up.”
The number seven jersey at Bath has been worn by some greats down the years like Roger Spurrell and Andy Robinson.
In the modern era, Mercer has not been short of expert advice to call upon with Lewis Moody, Julian Salvi – his opposite number in the Tigers rout – and Luke Watson having all had spells at openside.
“Luke was a huge influence. I didn't get to play with him too much but his style of play and the way he applied himself was really impressive,” Mercer said.
“Moodos still lives in the area and it's always good to chat to him when we see each other, and Julian sat me down a few times and went through aspects of my game with me whilst he was here.”
Mercer, like Salvi, was guilty of giving away too many penalties in his early days at Bath.
But the 24-year-old has seen a gradual improvement in that area, his ratio of penalties to minutes played going from 1 for every 71 minutes on the pitch in 2012/13 to 1 in 139 this term. Remarkably for such a combative player at the breakdown he has only been penalised in one of Bath's first four games.
“I gave away two penalties against London Welsh which I wasn't happy about but apart from that I've been pretty pleased with my discipline over this year and last,” he said.
“When I was a bit younger I was definitely a bit green and wanted to do too much too soon and I did give away too many penalties.
“I've since realised it's about being patient and trusting things will happen for you if you are working hard and getting into the right areas.”
JON NEWCOMBE