Ex-Munster boss van Graan on brink of first trophy with Bath
THERE’S A BEVY of entertaining rugby to choose from this weekend with URC quarter-finals, Super Rugby quarter-finals, the closing regular-season round of the Top 14, Ireland playing 7s in Croatia, and a Pro D2 final involving Irishman Darren O’Shea.
But if you can chisel out the time to get in front of a TV at 3pm on Saturday, the Premiership final between Northampton and Bath should be worth a watch [ITV and TNT Sports].
It’s only right that the two sides who finished first and second in the league table, both on 60 match points, made the decider at a sold-out Twickenham. Saints dethroned Saracens to reach this final, while Bath edged past Sale.
The last time either of these teams won the Premiership was in 2014. The evergreen Courtney Lawes and grizzled prop Alex Waller are the only surviving players from that Northampton success but Phil Dowson is now their director of rugby, heading a coaching staff that includes attack whizz Sam Vesty and defensive inspiration Lee Radford.
The last time Bath were in the final was 2015 when they lost Sarries and the stark reality is that the Somerset club hasn’t won the Premiership since 1996. This is a staggering drought for the club, particularly given that they’ve been so generously resourced by owner Bruce Craig.
Sick of being also-rans, Bath have become a more serious proposition over the course of the last two seasons, with the recruitment of Johann van Graan from Munster in 2022 key to the project.
Let’s not forget that van Graan had already extended his time in charge of Munster and that Bath had to convince him to exercise the exit clause in his IRFU contract to join them.
Van Graan has his doubters, Munster fans among them, but Bath were certain he was the man to lead their resurgence. The appointment made a lot of sense. The South African is an excellent organiser and planner, a man who excels in creating solid foundations for a rugby programme.
Van Graan after his last game with Munster in 2022. Laszlo Geczo / INPHO
Laszlo Geczo / INPHO / INPHO
Bath train in the magnificent surrounds of Farleigh House, a Gothic castle dating back to the 18th century, but the organisation was flabby and had bad habits before van Graan arrived. He has seemingly whipped things into far better shape, making changes to all aspects of the environment including medical and other backroom departments.
Van Graan is said to have been direct with Bath’s players, outlining exactly what wasn’t of sufficient quality and where they needed to go. The former Munster head coach felt Bath needed to increase their training intensity but had to implement the changes gradually to avoid widespread injuries.
Van Graan joined after Bath had finished bottom of the Premiership in 2022, the club blessed that relegation isn’t part of the league anymore.
The opening stages of his first season were tricky. Bath seemed to have continued where they left off in that bottom-placed campaign. Slowly but surely, the changes behind the scenes began to show on match days. Bath improved as the season went on and finished the campaign with four consecutive bonus-point wins.
Recruitment also helped hugely in the turnaround. When Worcester Warriors and Wasps folded in late 2022, Bath pounced for some of their top talent. Seven players came in from Worcester, including the outstanding Ted Hill and Ollie Lawrence, while the irrepressible ball-carrying back row Alfie Barbeary joined from Wasps.
And the strong recruitment continued last summer, headlined by the arrival of Scotland out-half Finn Russell, who has been at the heart of this run to the Premiership final. South African prop Thomas du Toit has been another key addition.
With class acts like Ben Spencer, Cameron Redpath, and Sam Underhill already at the club, Bath’s team has taken impressive shape. They were disappointed to be beaten by Exeter in the Champions Cup round of 16 but their domestic form has been good, with 11 wins in 18 regular-season games.
One man to watch out for on Saturday is former Ireland U20s captain Niall Annett. The ex-Ulster hooker joined from Worcester in the summer of 2022 and has made 20 appearances this season, generally as the back-up to Tom Dunn. He is a wily, gritty operator.
Bath’s defence has been solid, with JP Ferreira moving from Munster at the same time as van Graan in 2022, but there has been a key addition to the coaching staff this season in attack specialist Lee Blackett, the former Wasps head coach.
Van Graan with Munster’s Niall O’Donovan on a visit to Cork in March. Ben Brady / INPHO
Ben Brady / INPHO / INPHO
Blackett is renowned for his attack work and his partnership with playmaker Russell is clearly working well. Van Graan’s Munster became known for a kick-focused tactical approach that led to fingers being pointed at the South African, although it’s worth remembering that attack specialist Stephen Larkham had a big say in how the province played from 2019 until 2022.
As the main man, Van Graan has clearly been happy for Bath to play a game that suits the strengths of players like Spencer and Russell. Kicking is still crucial but there is a more daring slant to their style than was the case with Munster.
Bath are so happy with Van Graan that they have given him a contract as their ‘head of rugby’ until 2030, a uniquely long contract in this sport. Leinster second row Ross Molony is among their confirmed recruits ahead of next season and the club expects to be at the top table for good now.
Of course, none of this means they’ll win on Saturday against Northampton, who have been even more impressive this season. Saints had huge regrets about their poor start in the Champions Cup semi-final against Leinster at Croke Park so we should expect to see them burst out of the traps at Twickenham.
The match-up between Russell and 22-year-old Fin Smith at out-half is mouthwatering, while England’s incumbent scrum-half, Alex Mitchell, is opposite Spencer. There are head-to-heads of major interest across the board in this one.
Northampton are the narrow favourites but van Graan will be hoping that Saturday brings his first trophy as a head coach and Bath’s first for far too long.
