Come on you Bath!

Those who know me well – and who have perhaps followed these jottings for a while – will doubtless be wondering why I have made so little comment of late on the subject of Rugby Football. The fact of the matter is that I have tried to be careful not to bore the gentle reader; recognising that rugby does not inspire the same passion in everyone.

Also, I could not help but notice that my missives were tending to follow well worn tracks – celebrating (on occasion) or bemoaning (more often) the successes and failures of the teams that The Girl and I follow. Scotland find themselves these days with a decent team of worthy internationals, yet still they show little sign of winning any of the competitions in which they ply their trade.

Since our visit to Twickenham back in 2015 (the year that we came to Canada) to watch Bath lose the Premiership final to the unlovely Saracens, the club’s fortunes have been mixed… to put it mildly! A couple of years back it was only the organisational after-effects of the Covid pandemic that saved Bath from relegation.

But since then!… what a turnaround… what a revelation…!

Two years ago Bath recruited Johann van Graan as their Director of Rugby. Johann set about rebuilding the famous Bath side of old – recruiting such luminaries as the captain – Ben Spencer – and the mercurial Scottish fly-half – Finn Russell. Bath’s results improved immediately.

In the Premiership final 2024 (van Graan’s first season in charge) Bath narrowly lost to Northampton. This year they finally (once again!) hit gold. They topped the Premiership by 11 clear points with three rounds to spare. They won the Premiership Rugby Cup in March – beating Exeter 48:41. They won the European Challenge Cup – beating Lyon 37:12 in Cardiff in April. Finally they beat old rivals Leicester for the Premiership title itself – winning 23:21 at Twickenham in June.

Well! It has been a very long time since such celebrations have been in order. Congratulations to all concerned and many grateful thanks from long term Bath Rugby enthusiasts.

Come on you Bath!!