Members of Bath Rugby Club visited Warminster-based glovemaker Dents during a break from training last week to have their hands professionally measured.

The group included Bath and England player Dave Attwood, ex-British Lions and Bath Rugby Academy Director Danny Grewcock, Bath Club captain Stuart Hooper and the club’s Business Development Officer Geoff Binding.

The hand sizes were all between 10 and 10½, larger than average sizes of men’s hands, suggesting large hands are important assets for professional rugby players.

During the visit on Wednesday, the group also visited the Dents factory to see how the leather gloves are made and visited the famous Dents Museum where they saw the gloves of Queen Elizabeth I and Lord Nelson.

They also saw gloves made for several high profile films including the Batman gloves and more recently the James Bond gloves used in the film Skyfall.

Dents Quality Manager Roger Brett said: “They all seemed fascinated by the unique Dents tape measure which has been used for centuries to ensure a perfect fit.

“We usually see sizes between 7 and 10, but larger hands must help to handle that slippery ball during a fast game of rugby. Maybe in the future talent spotters will start looking at hand sizes as well as on-pitch skills.”