Bath Rugby’s Gallagher PREM tussle with Leicester Tigers at Mattioli Woods Welford Road on Saturday 18th October is going to be like Christmas, according to Johann van Graan.
Bath Rugby head of rugby Johann van Graan, right, and full-back Tom de Glanville at the club’s pre-Gallagher PREM Round 4 press conference on Tuesday 14th October | Photo © Bath Rugby
The match is easily Round 4’s clash of the titans, pitting last season’s finalists against each other for the first time since the Blue, Black & White’s historic victory at the Allianz Stadium in June.
At Bath’s pre-Round 4 press conference, on Tuesday 14th October, champions’ head of rugby van Graan said: “We love to go to Welford Road, not in an arrogant way, just because we love playing rugby.
“In the Premiership you’ve got 18 rounds, nine home and nine away, so we just get on with the away games and take each one for what it is.
“Leicester away is always physical and there’s massive respect between the clubs, the supporters, the players, the coaching groups. We know exactly what we’re going to get.
“All teams in the Premiership are trying to play positive rugby, it’s such a good product.
“Your defence has got to be spot on, the attack opportunities you get you’ve got to finish.
“At Welford Road, the pitch is a bit smaller, the kicking game is a bit different.
“It’s like Christmas, you’re going to give some presents and you’re going to get some in terms of those aerial bombs coming. We’ll send and they’ll send and then it’s who handles it the best.
“It’s about adapting to the referee, which is important every single weekend. The other bit is the breakdown. We’ve got some amazing poachers.
“Some teams play a bit more side to side, Leicester are only coming one way – they’re coming straight at you and we’re going straight at them.
“Whether you go to Leicester, Saracens, Exeter, Newcastle, Bristol, there’s no easy ground – and that’s certainly one of the things I’ve learned in the Premiership, there’s no easy games.
“For me personally, Leicester – from a Welford Road point of view – is one of the more unique grounds in terms of noise, the song when you run out, the east stand clapping, stamping their feet in the main pavilion. And that’s amazing.
“This is one of the oldest rivalries in club history all over the world, Bath versus Leicester. We saw it in the final, two fantastic sets of fans. It’s certainly one of the good contests in world rugby and we’re looking forward to it.”
As for team selection for the match in the East Midlands, van Graan said: “There’s always a few knocks and bruises, we’ll make our calls on Thursday [16th October]. Charlie [Ewels] will be out for a number of weeks.
“We’ve had a very good day on the field [training on Tuesday 14th October], tomorrow [Wednesday 15th October] is a day away from the club, and we’ll have another training session on Thursday and then then we’ll make our picks.”
Van Graan stressed the respect he has for Tigers’ head coach Geoff Parling. The former Leicester, England and British & Irish Lions lock, 41, was an assistant coach of the Australia national side before taking over at Welford Road this season.
“I’ve met him a few times,” said van Graan. “I think he still played for England when I was coaching with South Africa.
“A Leicester man through and through, very diligent with his line-out work, obviously was with the Wallabies for a long time – I don’t know him very well but instant respect.
“We met each other at Twickenham [Allianz Stadium] a few weeks ago and I know a lot of people that know him very well.
“Leicester have appointed a Leicester man, and from a club perspective [I’m] wishing him the very best.
“There’s obviously some changes there, but you can only wish people the best, that’s got nothing to do with us, and he’s a fellow coach and he’s been very friendly and hopefully we’ll coach against each other for a number of years.”
Bath full-back Tom de Glanville also highlighted the likely physicality of the clash with Leicester – and he praised van Graan and his team-mates for what has been achieved at the club in recent times.
De Glanville said: “It’s going to be physical [at Leicester], it always is. You know what they’re bringing, the physicality they bring as a team, and their aerial work’s awesome.
“Since Johann came here, the way he’s gelled a squad and built this club up, it’s been amazing. The people he’s brought in, staff and players, have been so special.
“It’s the confidence they bring, especially amongst the backline, like having Finn [Russell] and Santi [Carreras] there last week – we’ve got so many fantastic players and everyone can slot in everywhere.
“A lot of people might look at last season as a journey, but actually it started way back. And there’s a kind of trust we’ve built over that. We’ve got a really special bond as a group of lads.
“Santi’s got a skill set that I might not have a similar skill set to, and being able to learn off him and talk to him about it, it’s just a brilliant experience for me.
“We tried to make him feel as comfortable as possible in this group. We didn’t want him going out on the pitch [for his debut on Saturday 11th October] feeling like he wasn’t connected to us as a group and players and especially as outside backs – 10, 15, the most important thing is understanding what the players around you are going to be doing.
“So the quicker we made him feel comfortable, the more likely he was to feel comfortable on the pitch and perform like he did.”
And de Glanville has been impressed by the club’s new backs and attack coach Martin Gleeson, who joined Bath on Monday 6th October.
“It must be hard to come into a club three weeks into the season,” said de Glanville.
“What he’s brought is the energy and enthusiasm, and players just followed him.
“He’s a tough person you want to listen to and learn off. He’s been brilliant.”
