Greg Bateman could be forgiven for thinking what might have been when he reflects on a rugby career which has just come to an end. After all, this was a man who was on the verge of playing for Wales before events dictated otherwise.
But, when he considers all he has been through, the 32-year-old is happy to be in the place he is right now and able to look back on his rugby days with real fondness. Having been released by the Dragons after two injury-plagued seasons with the Gwent region, he has decided to hang up his boots to focus on his People’s Captain brewing business.
When we catch up for a chat, he proceeds to reveal for the first time just how close he came to playing for Wales under Warren Gatland. He was approached twice, but on the first occasion he was denied by an illegibility issue. When that was resolved, Wales came knocking again, but Bateman felt he had to turn down the opportunity because of the mental health issues he was going through. Some four years on, it’s a story he recounts with unflinching honesty.
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It was in the autumn of 2017, when he was excelling on the tighthead for Leicester, that the Surrey-born prop was first contacted by the Welsh management.
“I met up with Robin McBryde and he was very complimentary. I was obviously having some good form at that time. Looking back, I was probably playing some of the best rugby of my career. So I was asked to go to them for the autumn series of 2017. It was all looking positive and it just felt like the right thing," he recalls.
But that was when red tape intervened, as he explains. “My whole understanding is I was Welsh-qualified. My grandmother was born in Hawarden in Flintshire. I have been there once. I can’t remember what I was there for, but I remember driving through it and thinking ‘Oh here we are’.
“The background is my grandmother adopted my mother as a baby. So I said to Wales at the time 'Look, is that going to be a problem?' and I was told it would all be fine. Then I got there and they couldn’t take me because of the eligibility rules. They felt that was incredibly unfair, as did I, because that was my grandmother. It wasn’t as if I got adopted by somebody in my 20s so I could play for Wales.”
As harsh as it was, that looked to be that, but then World Rugby changed the rules, enabling a player’s adoptive grandparents to determine eligibility rather than bloodline. Bateman was now definitely available to Wales, so the following year they made another approach.
“They came back to see if I would be interested in a Six Nations and a summer tour. Really unfortunately, it was just when I was going through turmoil in my personal life and it just didn’t feel like the right thing to do to go and put myself in that environment in that period of time," he says.
“When they came back, I was obviously really happy and excited, but at the same time it was really, really tough on a personal level to have to turn them down.
"It’s all well and good doing ifs, buts and maybes and all the rest of it. It’s one of those things that I am sure will be debated within my family for years to come whether I should have gone or not. But you can only make the decisions that are right for you. On a personal level, going with Wales wasn’t the right thing to do because I just wasn’t in the right place emotionally to go.”
The eloquent and amenable Bateman is very open and frank when explaining the mental health issues he was experiencing.
“The thing I struggled with most was sleep and constant anxiety, worry. It was difficult to deal with it. There was that feeling of a loss of hope for a positive future. You are kind of wondering what the point is.
“The way that manifested was you just do not feel like yourself and you have got that nagging feeling that not everything is ok. It’s just difficult to crack on. There were certainly some s**t life circumstances that were going on at the time. It’s interesting what you learn about yourself when you go through these kind of experiences.
“Looking back, I probably have some traits of the type of person that would struggle with this sort of stuff. Then when you go through any kind of therapy or whatever, they unlock some bits that you don’t know about. For me, it was really helpful to talk about it. I went through various forms of help.”
Bateman continued with his rugby, covering both sides of the scrum, but there wasn’t to be another approach from Wales.
“Of course, once you’ve said no, you’ve said no, haven’t you? It’s incredibly difficult to go back. Obviously a lot of it is built on form and I don’t think I hit another vein of form like I had when I was at the Tigers during that period.”
After a five year spell with Leicester, the former London Welsh and Exeter prop moved to the Dragons in 2020 with a view to once again advancing his international claims, but it wasn’t to be.
“Unfortunately, I’ve just really struggled with soft tissue injuries. You are never really playing to your potential because you are not ever really fully cooked, which is really tough. It’s been incredibly disappointing to not be able to get to any kind of form. It’s not the easiest place to be in emotionally at times. It’s been a weird old two years at the Dragons.
“I’m done now. I was ready to finish. I’m hanging up my boots to focus my energies on People’s Captain and help support the growth we have been having. It’s really exciting and we are making a real positive social impact. Then you have a tough weekend again with the rugby and you know which one you would rather put your energies into, particularly when you are struggling to string games together.”
Bateman’s move into the brewing world stemmed from his time at Leicester when he became involved in the creation of a beer by a company that sponsored the club.
“I went and brewed it with a local brewery and I just fell in love with the process. It was around the time things weren’t going particularly well for me. Having something to do every 20 minutes for eight hours is a really good way of staying present, which was something I found really tough during that time. Pulling together all these ingredients to make a product I found really cathartic. Also I like a beer!”
Bateman decided this was the business for him, so in November 2020 he launched the People’s Captain range of craft beers, working with a contract brewer. With a nod to what he has been through, a portion of the money from sales goes to support mental health charities.
“It’s a brand that stands for social interaction. I have this firm belief that the great British pub offers a really natural safe space for people to have conversations and look out for one another.
“I’m not saying go and get leathered at a pub, that’s absolutely not what I am saying. But we are a brand to be there to remind you that you can open up because people are there to help and support you. It’s about raising awareness, but more than that, it’s about providing action. To think this story started in my darkest of times and we’ve turned it into a story of positivity makes me incredibly proud."
Bateman feels fortunate to have a living in place outside of rugby and is acutely aware that it can be very difficult for players when their pro careers come to an end.
“I have worked hard while I have been playing to be in a position where I am ok, if and when I felt the time was right to finish. The majority of players simply don’t have the head space to be able to put something together. A lot of that is because they don’t know what they want to do.
“It’s a really dangerous time for people who do finish sport because that transition period is like you are starting a new life and that can be an incredibly scary thing to do. I am very fortunate and grateful to be in a position to be able to move into something else fairly seamlessly. It’s difficult for those lads who don’t have things lined up.
“It's an incredibly challenging time and mental health in sport is becoming more and more of an issue. It’s really tough. Athletes are not immune to the struggles people go through. If anything, they push themselves to the limit and need as much help as they can possibly get. What is difficult is knowing what the best support is. We will do whatever we can to help as a business.”
As for his own situation, the Monmouth-based Bateman is in a real upbeat mood.
“I am doing fine. I continue to work hard on staying self aware and doing the things I can to look after myself as best as possible. But I’m pretty excited about what’s in front of me at the moment.”
With his rugby career now over, how does he reflect on what the game gave him over more than a decade?
“There are obviously matches I felt I played well in, but the thing you remember more is who you do it with. I feel very fortunate that I have got people I will be friends with for years to come. Those friendships you make through the game feel really special.
"I’m incredibly grateful to all the coaches, medics and staff that have helped and supported me for the last 12 seasons. I also want to thank the fans, particularly the Welford Road faithful, who were so compassionate in my hardest times. I’ll never forget that. Thank you to four fantastic clubs who’ve shaped me as a player and a person.”
Finally, does he occasionally ponder on what might have been with Wales?
“Would it have been nice to be part of a Grand Slam-winning team? Yeah, of course it would,” he replies.
“It’s an interesting one. I don’t know how helpful it is to think about that too much and that’s just me being honest with you. I go back to the decision I made at the time and it was certainly the right one for me personally. Was it the right thing for my rugby career? We will never know, will we. That’s the cruelty and reality of sport and life I suppose.
“It was very flattering and nice to be approached by Wales, but perhaps I wouldn’t have had some of the other experiences if I had done that, so you can’t necessarily compare A versus B. Ifs, buts and maybes are not too helpful. So I don’t know. Maybe that’s one for a beer, Simon.”
And he certainly has some fine beers to choose from.
