Josh Rock blames Antwerp struggles on pre-match toilet visit

Josh Rock could not grip his darts against Michael van Gerwen last week (Owen Humphreys/PA)

Josh Rock is ready to wash his hands of Belgian soap after blaming last week’s Premier League hammering in Antwerp on a pre-match visit to the toilet.

The Irishman lost 6-2 to Michael van Gerwen in the quarter-final of night two of the weekly roadshow and revealed he could not grip the darts properly.

He said the soap in the backstage toilets affected him and will now carry chalk and wax in his case to prevent future episodes.

“I went to the toilet just before I went on stage and obviously you wash your hands after going to the toilet, so I put the soap all over my hands and the next minute I’m up there, and I was like, ‘This isn’t going to go well’,” Rock explained.

Rock said the Belgian soap affected his performance (Owen Humphreys/PA)

“I just could not feel it at all. So now we’ve got a plan B, I’ve got a bit of chalk and wax in the case from now on.

“I didn’t have to use it this week at the Players Championship, it was fine, but it must have been the soap I used.

“That was the first time it’s happened. That was definitely the first time.

“It must be just whatever soap was in the toilet at Antwerp that I used and it just obviously took all the oils out of my finger and lost all grip.”

Rock has at least been able to cleanse his mind of the episode as he goes for his first points of the Premier League season in Glasgow on Thursday.

“I actually laughed at it straight away, because I knew what the problem was,” he said. “If I played like that and didn’t know what the problem was then, obviously we have an issue.

Josh Rock is happy that he knew what the issue is (John Walton/PA)

“But I knew I couldn’t grip my hands and no matter how much I was trying to lick my fingers, rub my finger up and down a barrel to get my fingers rough, it wasn’t working, so I just let that one go.”

Rock, in his debut campaign, opens up against Luke Humphries and as a staunch Rangers fan and with Celtic in Europa League action, he hopes to have the crowd on his side.

“Luckily, Celtic are playing in the Europa League tomorrow, so hopefully they’re all out and there’s only Rangers fans in,” he added.

“I’m close to Scotland, I’m literally a two-hour boat or a quick 10-minute flight over the water. So I would love it to happen.

“It’s on the day. If I turn up, I win. If I don’t turn up, I don’t win.”

In the other quarter-finals, Luke Littler takes on Van Gerwen, Jonny Clayton is up against Gian van Veen and Gerwyn Price plays Stephen Bunting.