He played at scrum-half for London Wasps and was capped once for the England national rugby union team.
[2] He played at scrum-half for London Wasps, where he formed a successful partnership with fly-half Rob Andrew.
[4] Bates successfully guided Borders back into the Heineken Cup in 2006–07 and, during his time with the club, also coached Scotland A to the final of the 2006 Churchill Cup, which they lost to the New Zealand Māori, after wins against England Saxons and Canada.
When the Scottish Rugby Union announced that Border Reivers were to be disbanded at the end of the 2006–07 season, Bates was headhunted by Newcastle Falcons to become their Coaching and Technical Director and rejoined the club in June 2007.
[6] In January 2008, the Rugby Football Union announced the appointment of Bates as head coach of England Saxons on a part-time basis.