Bath Rugby have a unique culture that has produced a family feel within the squad, according to head of rugby Johann van Graan.
Head of rugby Johann van Graan at Bath Rugby’s pre-Tigers press conference on Tuesday 14th October | Photo © Bath Rugby
The Blue, Black & White have made a superb start to the Gallagher PREM season, topping the table after three rounds and being the only side in the league to have won all of their matches.
Now Leicester Tigers lie in wait at Mattioli Woods Welford Road in Round 4 on Saturday 18th October.
And at Bath’s pre-Tigers press conference on Tuesday 14th October, van Graan said of his squad: “Credit to everybody that’s come in.
“Chris Harris has fitted in really, really well, so has Frosty [Dan Frost], so has Santi [Carreras], so has Henry [Arundell].
“Unfortunately Bernard [van der Linde] got injured but he made a big difference to the group at the start.
“So I think [where] we’ve gotten as a group over the last few years, it doesn’t matter where you’re from, what language you speak, what’s the colour of your skin, you just fit into the group. That’s a unique culture, you don’t get that everywhere.
“Ultimately it’s about the players and the way that they welcome people, and because we’re all people, but we’re a group of people that are actually loving what we do and we do it with a smile on our face.
“Generally in life, when people are happy they improve at a faster rate than people that are unhappy.
“This is a happy group and ultimately I’ve got to make selection decisions and the players have got to perform on the pitch.
“But we’ve got a real family feel off the field. But it’s all about performance on the pitch, and, again, credit to the playing group.
“They’ve been absolutely fantastic in all three of the warm-up games and then all three Premiership rounds.”
An indication of the family feel is that the Bath squad are looking forward to meeting up with their former team-mate Orlando Bailey at Welford Road.
The Dorset-born 24-year-old back joined Leicester this summer, having made 99 appearances for the Blue, Black & White across five seasons.
“The beauty of rugby is the respect factor,” said van Graan. “He’s a former [Bath] player and he left with our best wishes and he’s a good friend and one incredible human being.
“I’m sure on the field no quarter will be asked or given but it’ll be great to see Landy [Bailey].
“I can’t speak highly enough of him and we’ll always see him as one of the people that was part of this journey for the last three years. We’re all looking forward to seeing him.”
