Johann van Graan hailed his Bath Rugby players’ attitude in the destruction of Saracens at The Rec on Friday 20th March.
Johann van Graan was delighted by his Bath Rugby side’s crushing win over Saracens here at The Rec on Friday 20th March – but the biggest plus for him was his players’ attitude | Photo © Richard Briggs
The Blue, Black & White’s head of rugby fielded a matchday 23 bristling with stars who had appeared in this year’s Guinness Six Nations.
And after a shaky first few minutes, Bath showed their class to hammer the North Londoners 62-15 in Gallagher PREM Round 11.
At the winners’ post-match press conference, van Graan said: “We met on Monday [16th March] around lunchtime with all the Six Nations players back in and it was so nice to have the whole group together because the last time we were together as a group was before the Gloucester game [in January].
“We as a group enjoy it when we’re together, and we spoke about the next few weeks, many challenges ahead, but we needed to make a start.
“And we had one full training session, on Tuesday afternoon [17th March], and I think the positive bit from a coaching point of view is we banked on what we’ve done in the previous few months.
“And then credit to the 23 players that we selected. They represented the group really well.
“We knew that it’d take a few minutes to get accustomed to each other again. And then I thought we found our rhythm on 10-0 down, and then we managed to score quite a few tries.
“We’re happy with the overall performance, both sides of the ball, and I thought defensively we scrambled really well.
“Then the hunger to attack, we’ve worked on a few bits, and great night at The Rec in terms of weather, I thought we used opportunities well.
“But for me, it was the attitude of the players – the attitude of the players like Thomas [du Toit] and Santi [Carreras], how they returned [from holiday], how the international players returned [after playing in the Six Nations], some of them played a Test match on Saturday evening [14th March], late, and then the whole group, and we said in the changing room, we got our five points, which we worked very hard for. It was a tough game and satisfying.”
Asked by the Echo if falling 10-0 behind in the game worried him much or whether his powerful side left him confident of them turning the deficit into a bonus-point victory, van Graan said: “Obviously we don’t want to be 10-0 down.
“But I think what the Premiership has shown, over the last few years, what we’ve done sometimes – we were up by a lot, and sometimes you’re down by a lot.
“It’s an 80-minute game. Rugby’s not a 20- or a 40- or a 60-minute game. It’s an 80-minute game, and if you play against very good sides…
“I thought Saracens started the game really well. Their first try, that last short little pass, they put us under pressure and they finished it well.
“So what we’ve become very comfortable with is the way we want to do things at our base.
“And whether it’s the set piece or the attack or the defence or the kicking game or the breakdown, we just stick to what we do and credit to the playing group that they did really well.”
On why he brought on seven replacements in one go in the 53rd minute – leaving only scrum-half Bernard van der Linde on the bench at that point – van Graan said: “Certain teams use their subs in certain ways.
“I think what we’ve done well the last two seasons is plan our 80 minutes with our players, the ability to adapt in terms of the pitches that the game gives you.
“I think we timed it well tonight, the players know the different options depending on the game.
“We sent all of them on with that penalty and then we scored straight from that maul.
“The psychology [of bringing on replacements en masse] for others, I wouldn’t comment on.
“For us, I think the game has moved on quite a bit. You need to make sure that you do things on your terms.
“And for us, we want to sometimes regain momentum or sometimes go from fourth gear maybe back into third gear and then kick on, and I thought the players knew exactly what was coming.
“There’s sometimes some risk to it. If you put seven players on and you leave a 9 behind [van der Linde against Saracens], it might catch you at a certain stage.
“But now as a group we’re very comfortable with the way that we do things.
“I thought the seven guys that came on – and then Bernie [van der Linde] that came on as the eighth player, on 65 minutes – did really, really well.”
Asked whether there is momentum on and off the field following last week’s announcement that Sir James Dyson had acquired a 50% ownership stake in the club, van Graan said: “I think if we just take one step back and breathe for a moment, we’ve been together now as this group of people for just over three-and-a-half years, and there’s many things that we’ve done.
“The club have fought for a long time to get the ball rolling for building a stadium.
“We love playing at The Rec. And when the moment is that we can build a new stadium, it’ll be amazing.
“I’m so glad for Bruce [Craig, who bought the club in 2010]. Bruce has done some amazing things for the city and for the team. And ultimately it’s his club and he makes decisions at the top.
“Now James has come in, and from a rugby point of view, nothing changes.
“We need to get on with our job on the field. But from where the Premiership was a few years ago, with clubs going down to where it’s now Red Bull coming in, James Dyson coming in, financial sustainability… I think the Premiership is in a good place and we’re in a good place.”
