‘A lot of Richie McCaw in Guy Pepper’: Bath boss Johann van Graan sees a star in the making

Bath's Guy Pepper has been compared to one of the greatest players of all time. Photos / Getty Images and Photosport

Last season, Newcastle’s untelevised defeat at Saracens did not stand out as a match that needed to be revisited in great detail, nor one that would be troubling the end-of-season awards ceremony. At first.

But at the Rec, it became not just a match that deserved analysis but one that would ignite a chain of events which would lead to one of English rugby’s brightest young flankers, Guy Pepper, signing for Bath.

Johann van Graan, reviewing the footage, was astounded by what he saw. Bath’s head of rugby had spotted Pepper’s commitment and assiduousness in a losing cause and the South African felt compelled to act. That day, the 21-year-old made an astonishing 35 tackles, a Premiership record, which led to him signing for Bath in April this year and, presumably, formed a key part of the reasoning behind his inclusion in Steve Borthwick’s Six Nations training squad before being overlooked for the tour of Japan and New Zealand.

In the round-one victory over Northampton, Pepper put himself about after coming off the bench on debut. In Sunday’s victory against Leicester, however, Pepper played a full 80 minutes, scoring and starring in Bath’s victory at Welford Road.

With ash-brown hair, standing at 188cm and weighing 16st 7lb, Pepper’s all-court game reminded Van Graan of another flanker of similarly ash-brown hair, who stood at 6ft 3in and weighed 104kg, and just happened to be one of the greatest of them all.

“I said it when I signed him that I saw something in him, [Richie] McCaw-like, something that is different to others,” explained Van Graan after the Leicester victory. “He has an engine, he can go for 80 minutes – he showed that again [on Sunday evening]. He was very good.

“He came on last week and he was phenomenal. Then, I watched him [on Sunday night], 80 minutes, and I think at one stage he had three ‘poach’ turnovers in a row. He got injured at the back end of the game, took a big knock. It was not even a discussion [from Pepper’s perspective] as to whether he was coming off. He was always staying on.”

Van Graan recalled that December 2023 game at Saracens while Pepper was still a Falcon. Bath’s head of rugby marvelled at the defensive work-rate, but honing in on Pepper’s skills without the ball would be reductive. The reason why Van Graan drew comparisons with McCaw, the great New Zealand flanker of 148 caps and two World Cup triumphs, was because of Pepper’s roundedness. The 21-year-old is not just a scavenger, a defensive supremo or a big ball carrier – he is both Jack and, maybe one day, master of all those trades.

‘Something special developing’

In the victory over the Tigers, as well as making the most tackles of any Bath player, Pepper was second for turnovers won, defenders beaten and line-breaks. For his try, his willingness to work relentlessly was notable, carrying first from short range to take Bath close and then two phases later to finish the job.

“At Newcastle, in the Saracens game last season, he made a ridiculous amount of tackles, 30-something,” Van Graan added. “To do what he did last season at his club, to be such a standout player at that age, I saw some bits, ‘This guy is different’. Then, when you look closely, what people have not even seen yet is his carrying ability. Look at how he carried in the last two weeks. His decision-making at the breakdown; I might be mistaken but I don’t think he conceded a penalty [on Sunday night]? And I remember seeing two poaches.

“His support play, too; he seems to always be there. Similar to scrum-halves, Guy seems to be always there. If you look at the offside penalty we got to go 10 points clear [against Leicester], he was the first player there in support. He has a long way to go but there’s something special developing in him.”

If Pepper were to finish his career with even half of McCaw’s list of achievements, the young Englishman would have developed something special, all right.