Johann van Graan said that Bath Rugby earning a home tie in the Investec Champions Cup Round of 16 is down to the players’ hard work and dedication.
Bath Rugby head of rugby Johann van Graan praised his players after they thumped Edinburgh Rugby here at The Rec to earn home advantage in the Investec Champions Cup Round of 16 | Photo © Richard Briggs
The Blue, Black & White sealed top spot in Pool 2 by thumping visitors Edinburgh Rugby 63-10 on Friday 16th January, meaning they will not only play at The Rec in the last 16 but, should they get that far, the quarter-finals too.
Head of rugby van Graan said at Bath’s post-match press conference: “I’ve spoken a lot about July 11th 2022 [when he took over at the club] so we’ve had a lot of firsts as a group, and this is another first for us.
“To win our pool in Europe and we’re hosting a Round of 16 game [against Saracens] in a few months’ time…
“That’s all down to the players that are putting in the work day by day, week by week, month by month, season by season.
“And also the staff, that’s added so much.
“We’ll enjoy the moment [the win over Edinburgh]. It’s a moment in time, and great to score 63 points at The Rec in Round 4.
“We conceded only three penalties tonight, the game becomes a lot easier if you get field position.
“The penalty try [Bath’s second score] from a scrum, that kind of gives you momentum in the game.
“Conditions were tricky. I thought our intent in the attacking game was good tonight, one or two balls down. Obviously, one or two chances that we left out there.
“I thought from a defensive point of view, we defended really well. We gave them no points in the second half, similar to last week [at Castres Olympique in Round 3].
“So all parts of our game are getting better.
“In terms of what it’s going take [to go deep in the Champions Cup], it’s one game at a time, a knockout game in a few months.
“We’ve got to keep getting better.
“We’ve got one more week together, and then there’s a… let’s call it a big break for some of the lads.
“We’ve got the PREM Cup, and then a big contingent of our players will go to their different Six Nations teams, Thomas [du Toit] and Santi [Carreras] will have a break, and then we’ll be all together for two Premiership games, which a lot of guys will have to take a breather [from], and then it’s that game [Champions Cup Round of 16] in the first weekend of April.
“The time that we as a group will be together will be quite short, but that’s the same for all teams.
“It’s going to take something amazing to win this competition. We played last Friday night [9th January at Castres] – if you just watched some of the games last Saturday and last Sunday [10th and 11th Januuary], some fantastic teams left in this competition, and we can control only what we can do, but we’re excited about it.”
Van Graan was pleased with the display of Max Ojomoh, who made a fine display and scored the last of Bath’s nine tries.
“I thought he carried the ball well,” said van Graan. “I thought he was decisive.
“He’s used every opportunity that he’s had over the last few months. I’m not sure whether he’ll be selected or not next week [for the Gallagher PREM match at Gloucester Rugby on Friday 23rd January], but on current form, he’s improving week in and week out and I think the thing about Max is he plays the game with a smile on his face.
“He’s tasted international rugby, and I hope for him that he’s in the England squad [for the Six Nations].”
Bath number 8 Alfie Barbeary was man of the match for the third week running – twice in the Champions Cup and once in the PREM. And van Graan described the former Wasps player’s ball carrying in recent weeks as “exceptional”.
“I thought Alfie two years ago in [Champions Cup] Round 3 against Racing [92] was fantastic,” said van Graan. “Unfortunately, then he got the [three-week] suspension.
“But he’s hit form the last few weeks, I think his carrying has been exceptional.
“He’s given us a lot of go forward and we’ve got him to a place where he can play 80 minutes, which hasn’t been the case for the last few years, and I’m so glad for him.
“He’s really taken us forward the last few weeks.”
Although the Blue, Black & White are among the favourites to lift the Champions Cup in May, van Graan said that they did not go into the season targeting glory in the competition.
He said: “We wanted to do well in the last two Champions Cups.
“If you think back, two years ago we had the game away against Toulouse. We needed one more try to qualify for [a] home [tie], and we couldn’t, and we had the away game against Exeter [who won 21-15 in the Round of 16].
“Last season, we lost with the last play of the game against Benetton, and we scored the three tries against Leinster, we needed one more [to reach the Round of 16], and then the Challenge Cup gave us some momentum.
“What was different [this season] is we got five points in our first game [a 40-14 win over Munster Rugby].
“In the changing room against Toulon [after a 45-34 defeat in Round 2] we were all disappointed, but that one [bonus] point gave us an advantage after two rounds.
“In Europe, you need to perform in Rounds 3 and 4 and we got 10 out of 10 points [from those two ties].
“So that’s obviously a massive improvement from the first two years, but our focus was the exact same as the previous few years.
“But again, all credit to the players. After winning three trophies last year, history suggests that a lot of teams fall away because the hunger isn’t there any more. You think things are going to happen.
“But I thought the players led by [captain] Ben [Spencer] tonight showed we wanted this and we wanted a home game [in the Round of 16], and now we’ve achieved that so we’ll enjoy it for the next two days and then… the season is relentless, then we’re going to Gloucester.”
