Friday night lights return to The Rec on Friday 3rd October – and Bath Rugby back row Miles Reid cannot wait.
Bath Rugby back row Miles Reid, left, and head of rugby Johann van Graan at the club’s pre-Sharks press conference this week | Image © Bath Rugby
“It’s my favourite type of game,” said the 27-year-old ahead of the evening clash with Sale Sharks in the Blue, Black & White’s first home fixture of the Gallagher PREM season.
“You look back to last season and that semi-final against Bristol [under The Rec floodlights on Friday 6th June], that was a special memory that will stick with me for a long time.
“That Friday-night feeling is amazing. The city comes alive. People are off work going into the weekend. The atmosphere at The Rec is so special.
“I’m looking forward to this weekend and it’s nice to have a few Friday-night fixtures.
“Any time we go and play Sale or they come to play us, it’s always a physical battle – that’s what they’re about, that’s what we’re about.
“Definitely this weekend going into it, it’s going to be a Test-match type. That’s the challenge that we love. I love those type of games.”
Bath started their defence of the league title by winning 47-31 at Harlequins under the floodlights at Twickenham Stoop Stadium on Friday 26th September. And Reid is eager to have another champions’ medal around his neck at the end of the 2025-26 campaign.
The former pupil of Beechen Cliff School said: “That Premiership title was something I’d dreamed of my whole life and to achieve that, you can never take that away from someone.
“It’s given me so much confidence and it’s also given me a taste for it and a taste of what you have to do to go and achieve it, and that just pushes you on more.
“My confidence has grown massively, myself and the whole team over the last couple of years.”
Johann van Graan, Bath’s head of rugby, said of the match against the Sharks: “Sale are a team we respect a lot, they’ve got a fly-half in form and once they get momentum they’re difficult to stop.
“Our focus is just on ourselves. We respect the opposition but we’ve got loads of things to work on in our own game.
“It will certainly be a battle on Friday night.
“There’s a lot of respect between the two teams, the coaching staff, they’ve got some very good players and the games against them are always pretty physical, always played in a good spirit and we look forward to Friday night at The Rec.”
Last term, Bath completed a league double over Sale. The Blue, Black & White won 32-23 away – after trailing 16-12 at the break – on Sunday 26th January, having secured a 40-13 home victory on Saturday 26th October.
The Northerners will come to The Rec on the back of a 27-10 home victory over Gloucester Rugby in their Gallagher PREM opener on Thursday 25th September.
Kick-off against the Sharks will be at 7.45pm; gates will open at 5.45pm.
The game is set to be another sellout, following the capacity crowd for the PREM Rugby Cup fixture against Exeter Chiefs on Saturday 20th September.
Tarquin McDonald, Bath’s chief executive, said: “After last season’s memorable campaign [when the club won three trophies], we believe the best is yet to come and we’re looking forward to welcoming everyone into The Rec for our [PREM] home opener in what’s set to be a fantastic evening under the lights and hopefully a winning start.
“With the successes of the Women’s World Cup and the return of the PREM, it’s a brilliant time for rugby and we’d encourage anybody who’s considering getting involved in the sport to come and enjoy our new matchday experience at The Rec for the first time.”
The matchday experience against Sale will feature live music from resident band Sad Dad Club, selfies with Max the Mascot in the Fan Village, and a new spectacle in the final 10 minutes before kick-off including the Tunnel of Noise.
For remaining tickets, visit https://www.eticketing.co.uk/bathrugby/Events – admission for students and children starts at £10.
