Van Graan: Bath losing to Northampton shows PREM’s quality

Johann van Graan believes that his Bath Rugby side’s defeat by Northampton Saints on Saturday 27th December shows the quality of the Gallagher PREM.

Johann van Graan conceded that his Bath Rugby side were beaten by a better team when they faced Northampton Saints here at The Rec on Saturday 27th December | Photo © Richard Briggs

The Blue, Black & White put in a well below-par performance at The Rec in the Round 8 fixture and were beaten 41-21 – a result that few people would have predicted.

Bath head of rugby van Graan is always gracious with the media – and despite obviously hurting at the manner of the loss, he was his usual calm and exceptionally polite self at his post-match press conference, and shook hands with all the journalists present.

But he was stony faced as he delivered his verdict on a match that saw Bath lose not only their perfect home record in the PREM this season but also the league leadership, the Saints taking over in pole position.

“Clearly beaten by the better team on the day,” said van Graan.

“The last 30, they squeezed us, they got penalties, and then, against a side like Northampton, it’s very difficult to keep them out.

“The first half was a crazy half of rugby by both teams.

“We came out after half-time, we scored [to make it] 21-14 after 46 minutes and then the last 30 just weren’t good enough from our side.

“Never too high, never too low. We as a group win together and we lose together.

“Beaten by the better side on the night and well done to Northampton. They were really, really fast.

“We had some good moments, specifically in the first half. We had two clear-cut opportunities literally one metre from their try line which we didn’t finish.

“These two teams play a totally different way. We scored our third after 46 minutes, and then they got the bonus point in the second half.

“It’s never great to lose. I think what it does show is the quality of the Premiership.

“Anybody can beat anybody on the day, and from our side we’ll go and review it on Monday morning and then move forward again.

“We’re right in the middle of a massive block.

“There were some very good things we did.

“Across the season we’re in a very good place, but clearly not good enough tonight.

“All defeats hurt. We haven’t lost a lot at The Rec – I think the last time we lost [at home] in the Premiership was against Bristol [in October 2024].

“It hurts when you lose because we’ve actually had a very good week.

“But we didn’t perform in the last 30 minutes of the game.

“We came up against an opponent that was better than us on the evening, and credit to them.”

Of Tom de Glanville’s condition after colliding, head first, with a post in the 31st minute and subsequently being replaced by Santi Carreras in the 56th minute, van Graan said: “He stiffened up quite a bit, that’s why we brought in Santi.

“It reminds you that, credit to the players, they always put their bodies on the line. But let’s see where we’re at early next week.”

And of the injury that forced Max Ojomoh out of the game in the 31st minute, van Graan said: “It looks like a calf. We’ll know a bit more on Monday or Tuesday.”

Hooker Tom Dunn joined van Graan at the press conference and explained how he reacts to a defeat.

“I always look at myself first, look at myself and see what I can do better,” said Dunn. “And then we do that collectively as a team on Monday.

“As Johann stated earlier, we’re never too high, never too low, we don’t take things for granted, we don’t expect things to happen, so we always look in within the circle and see how we can fix it.”

Of what it was like watching from the sidelines after being replaced in the second half – although he did return as a sin-bin substitute after Dan Frost was yellow-carded – Dunn said: “You always want to be involved.

“It’s not a tough watch because you know everyone’s doing what they can, everyone’s pulling together, pulling in the right direction.

“So you sit there and you trust the group and you trust the people on the pitch.

“We’ll review it on Monday and then we’ll get back to zero, we’ll look at it and look forward to Exeter [at The Rec on Saturday 3rd January in PREM Round 9].”

Northampton director of rugby Phil Dowson acknowledged at his post-match press conference that Bath would be disappointed with the result against the much-changed Midlanders.

He said: “We battled hard in the first half and kept them out on a few occasions, and I thought in the second half we really got into our stride a bit more. We always play fast regardless of who we’re playing against.

“Bath are a very good side and they’ve got lots of very good players, and they’ll be disappointed with it today.

“Bath’s team, Bath’s squad, what they did last year, winning the treble, their home record… and people talk about home records but good sides have good home records, because they’re full of really good players.

“They’re coached well, I’ve got a lot of respect for Johann van Graan and his team. So we know the challenge is going to be huge.

“I think some of those selection changes took some pressure off us and allowed us to free up and go and get them.

“And I think once we got through the first half, and it was a draw, and we felt our way in, and we’d had some scores chalked off, we felt good about ourselves, and that gave us a bit more confidence.”