Chris Hewett of The Independent feels that Bath's defeat by Ulster at the Recreation Ground on Saturday proves that there are some things that money can't buy.
"He may have been the most merciless back-row bandit ever to rob an opponent of his sanity and self-respect in a public place: certainly, the phrase "mad, bad and dangerous to know" was an insipid understatement when used in his connection.
"Roger Spurrell, the captain who launched Bath on their golden decade, travelled north from his beachside home in Cornwall at the weekend to cast an eye over his old club in their fight for Heineken Cup survival, hob-nobbing with the owner Bruce Craig in his private box, catching up with a few greying ex-playmates in the public bar, offering an opinion or two, listening to a whole lot more. It was good to see him again.
"Quite what he concluded about what he had seen and heard was anyone's guess - there was always something elusive about him, even in the early days - but this much was blindingly obvious: there was not even a trace element of the Spurrell spirit to be found among the current Bath players on Saturday.
"Against an Ulster side missing a talismanic flanker of their own in Stephen Ferris, struggling with their discipline around the tackle area and down to 14 men at the last knockings, the West Countrymen were so lacking in killer instinct that this "should win" game became a "can't win" game almost without them noticing."
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