Bristol’s Joe Batley: I didn’t think cancer would change my life – then I got so sick and lost my job

When you’ve beaten cancer at 21, been made redundant and bounced back to become a Premiership star and potential England international seven years later, perspective tends to come your way.

Joe Batley’s story is remarkable. And as we sit down, another page is written as he is named in the Premiership team of the season following a breakthrough campaign for the Bristol Bears lock.

And on the eve of a crunch Premiership semi-final against fierce rivals Bath at the Rec, he is able to sit back and reflect.

‘When I was younger, I fell into the trap of letting matches dictate my emotional state. It could ruin my whole weekend,’ one of English rugby’s standout forwards this season, told Mail Sport.

‘The pressure of having to be perfect weighed heavy. Pre-match, I’d be stressed about what could happen and post, I’d be worried about what didn’t.

‘What put a lot into perspective for me was when I was diagnosed with cancer. After Covid, I had my son.

‘This is all I’ve ever wanted – to be a professional rugby player. Actually, when I was four, I wanted to be the blue Power Ranger. But that faded after a while!

‘If I’m not enjoying it now, what’s the point? I want to appreciate this as much as I can. Pre-game, you probably see me running around with a huge smile on my face.

‘If you’re getting yourself revved up 24 hours before a match, you’re going to find yourself pretty burned out by the time you get there so it’s no problem to talk.’

Now 28, Batley is coming into his prime in the second row with the rollercoaster that has been his professional and personal life to this point now behind him.

In his second spell at Bristol, he is a key figure for director of rugby Pat Lam. Batley will have to be at his best if the Bears are to seal what would be a third victory over table-toppers and tomorrow’s hosts Bath this season and reach the Premiership final.

But there is confidence among the Bristol squad they can do so. They have beaten Bath in 11 of the last 14 meetings between the two sides.

Alongside team-mates Gabriel Ibitoye and Benhard Janse van Rensburg, Batley was yesterday named in the Premiership’s team of the season.

He earned a first England call last month and he hopes to be part of the national squad’s summer tour of the Americas. A Test debut in either Argentina or the USA would cap it all off.

In 2018, Batley had his life turned upside down when he was diagnosed with Hodgkin Lymphoma after he found a lump in his neck. He’d received no prior warning signs.

‘Having cancer at 21 was a bit of blissful ignorance. That word just cuts right through you. It was a sucker punch and after that, the rest is a blur,’ he said.

‘Cancer has so many bad connotations. Mine was caught early. In that moment, I just wanted to get back playing straight away. I didn’t think it would change my life. But before the chemotherapy treatment started, I was asked if I wanted to freeze my sperm in case the treatment impacted my fertility.

‘That made things more serious. At 21, I went to a fertility clinic. I waltzed in there in my Bristol training kit because what else do you wear?

‘It was six months of chemotherapy and a month of radiotherapy. I got so sick. My hair fell out. When I came back, I was c**p. I didn’t get back properly fit until Covid then everything stopped and I didn’t have a job. I was back living at my mum and dad’s, sleeping on their sofa.

‘Worcester phoned up. I played a lot of rugby, felt more like myself, and then it went t**s up there. It wasn’t ideal.

‘I had my son Wilfred at that time which, not knowing if I was fertile or not, was a huge blessing to me and my partner Anna. When Worcester collapsed, I didn’t know how I’d support my young family. I’d put all my eggs in the rugby basket.

‘Luckily enough, Pat phoned and asked me to come back to Bristol. I owe a lot to this club and city for the way they supported me when I had cancer. They’ve allowed me to live out my dream.’

Batley has flourished at Ashton Gate, the Bears benefitting from Worcester’s financial collapse in 2022.

Lam’s side play brilliant attacking rugby and the likes of Ibitoye – rightly – get most of the headlines. But Batley is a key figure, pushing the piano so Lam’s backs can play it.

Bristol are undoubtedly outsiders to beat bitter rivals Bath.

Ellis Genge, the Bristol, England and Lions prop, stoked the fires ahead of Friday’s game at The Rec. Genge this week told The Good, The Bad & The Rugby podcast he had a ‘personal vendetta’ against Bath. He added: ‘If you’re from Bristol, you hate Bath.’ Lam has also been bullish in his belief Bristol know how to win. Hate doesn’t fuel Batley.

‘Growing up in Portsmouth, I just wanted to play in the Premiership,’ he said. ‘I didn’t really care who for. I just wanted to reach the pinnacle and play in the games I used to watch.

‘I want to achieve everything rugby has to offer. I want to win the Premiership. I want to play 100 times for Bristol. I want to play for England. I feel privileged now to be able to look back on everything I’ve been through knowing the outcome is positive.

‘When you’re in the rollercoaster, you can’t do that. I love rugby. I probably got obsessed, to be honest. It was everything. I put pressure on myself in the past. Now, I look at rugby as an expression of freedom.’

Bath finished the regular season as runaway leaders and remain likely title winners. They will undoubtedly try to outpower Bristol in their bid for an historic Treble, having already won the Premiership Rugby Cup and the European Challenge Cup this term. Bath’s head of rugby Johann van Graan has named six forwards on his bench. They will go direct.

Batley and Co will have to fight fire with fire. But taking on the likes of Finn Russell doesn’t phase Batley. He’s experienced real life outside of the rugby bubble and seems better for it when he crosses the white line. So, after all he’s been through, what would winning the Premiership mean to him?

‘It would be monumental. I want to have a legacy and something to tangible to hang my hat on,’ he added. ‘At club level, there is nothing bigger we can achieve than winning the Premiership. The way this season has gone, to do that we’d have had to have played Bath at some point. Credit to them. They’ve been amazing.

‘But there would be no better way for us to win the league than by going to Bath and putting them to the sword.

‘We back our ability to do it our way. We believe we can win and entertain. This is the big one. I’m not Bristolian, but my partner is and I know what this means to her, this club and this city. There’s nothing I want more than to get to the final by beating Bath on their own patch.’