Foley steps in to atmosphere of suspicion

They did their best to present a united front at the Recreation Ground yesterday: Michael Foley, the new head honcho, sat shoulder to shoulder with Dan Lyle, the club captain, and John Hall, a part-time coach with a whole history of service and achievement behind him. They sang from the same hymnsheet, struck the same chord and embraced the same vision. And beneath it all, the cracks were there for all to see.

Families do not abandon their own without a shedding of tears and an outpouring of grief, and there were few smiles among the Bath brotherhood as players and back-room staff mulled over the abrupt departure of the enthusiastic and intensely loyal Jon Callard, whose 22-month reign as head coach ended on Tuesday. Some players were philosophical – "That's professional sport for you," said one – while others muttered darkly about the former England full-back being "stabbed in the back". All they knew for sure was that Callard had gone, and that Foley was now in charge. The grim detail of who said what to whom and when was shrouded in a mist of speculation and suspicion.

According to the official Bath line, Callard quit after rejecting an offer to stay on as the No 2 to his own assistant following Foley's promotion to the rank of team director. Foley, a World Cup-winning Australian hooker who teamed up with Callard in December, was suitably embarrassed at the turn of events when he spoke yesterday, admitting that he was "absolutely not comfortable" with the situation.

"Andrew Brownsword [the Bath owner and chief executive] approached me about some different duties and responsibilities, and I told him it depended on Jon endorsing those changes," said the Queenslander. "It seems that, after discussions between Andrew and Jon, it was decided that Jon would not continue. I guess there was a breakdown in communications there. I'm disappointed that Jon isn't here, but the reality now is that I have a fairly challenging job ahead of me. It's a fact of life that, if you're not successful, you're not going to stay around. There again, it's difficult to identify one guy or one area and come up with an explanation covering all the circumstances behind things going wrong."

Hall, whose own departure as director of rugby in 1997 provoked a similar outbreak of heartache and soul-searching among the Recreation Grounders, was quick to pay tribute to Callard. "This is a very sad day," said the former England flanker, who will continue to coach the Bath forwards. "Jon made a massive contribution, both as a player and a coach. He is part of Bath's history and he won't be forgotten. I hope he stays in touch."

Foley, very much an apprentice coach, is eagerly awaiting the appointment of a director of rugby, who will, by definition, be a senior figure well versed in the art of running a professional club. His mentor, the former Queensland and Wallaby coach John Connolly, is the most obvious target even though the Australian has signed a deal taking him from Stade Français to Swansea at the end of the season. "I'm not sure how John could avoid going to Swansea, but we could certainly use a person with his kind of experience," said Foley.

Bath are confident of securing at least one recruit from Stade Français, the French international prop Sylvain Marconnet, and other overseas players, several of them Australian, are being approached. There is certain to be a heavy recruitment drive during the summer – the lack of one last summer left Callard high and dry when injuries kicked in after the Lions tour of Australia – with the priority areas identified as the front row, back row and both half-back positions.

Meanwhile, Henry Paul's England Test career is on indefinite hold following his miserable debut against France last weekend. The former New Zealand rugby league international has been named, along with Bath's Iain Balshaw and Phil Greening of Wasps, in the national seven-a-side squad for the series in Beijing on 15-16 March and Hong Kong a week later. England's next Six Nations fixture, against Wales at Twickenham, clashes with the Hong Kong event.