Togetherness key to success for Bath's Van Graan
Bath coach Johann van Graan praised the togetherness of his club after they beat Leicester 23-21 to win the Premiership title for the first time since 1996 on Saturday, three years after finishing bottom of the league.
The South African oversaw the turnaround that took Bath to the final last year, before finishing the regular season 11 points clear this year and holding off a late fightback from old rivals Leicester to secure a memorable triumph in the final.
"It's for every player, every staff member, everyone involved in the club, and especially the supporters," Van Graan said. "We spoke about connection and what I saw before the game when we got off that bus was one of the best experiences I've had in the game."
The victory completed a superb treble this season after Bath earlier bagged the Premiership Cup and European Challenge Cup.
"Winning the Challenge Cup was brilliant but at the start of the year the goal was to win the Premiership," said flyhalf Finn Russell. "It's special. This group, the city, the club deserves it. The work we've put in over the last few years and then what we do on the pitch is try to represent the city as best we can.
"After last year's defeat, we bounced back really quickly and we managed to get the job done."
Russell looked certain to score an interception try in the second half but then threw a pass to supporting Max Ojomoh, drawing gasps from the astonished Twickenham crowd.
"He's a kid from Bath that grew up watching his dad (England and Bath flanker Steve) lifting this trophy, Russell said. "Giving him a little bit of limelight in the final was nice."
Veteran scrumhalf Ben Spencer, a title winner with Saracens, said: "What we've done this year, to win three trophies like we have, is unbelievable.
"When Johann came in, he completely turned this place around. We've got a really good group around him in terms of coaches, in terms of staff and we've gone from there and I think we've gone from strength to strength.
"I'm not sure there's enough time to say what he brings.
He has an unbelievable ability to stay calm at all times. At halftime he's great and we've had a really good ability to start from zero.
"His ability to deal with people - 60-odd players who want to play every week - is amazing. The togetherness and strength of this group is just that - the group."
Leicester coach Michael Cheika was proud of his team's effort but, not for the first time, was unhappy with the officials, who heavily penalised his team and sent two players to the sin bin.
"The calls through the game went against us, the scrum calls were incredible, honestly, and some of the foul play ones. Dominating like that and getting nothing," said the Australian as his one-season stint came to a frustrating end.
"Of course I'm slightly biased, but it was frustrating and when you come out of a final having scored more tries than the opposition it says something.
"But I love this group of guys, and love the club and I'm so proud of the players for the way they came in there and stayed in it right to the end. We gave ourselves a chance to win it right at the end, but unfortunately it didn't go our way."
Reuters
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Irish Daily Mirror
4 hours ago
- Irish Daily Mirror
Fears growing at Leinster that in-demand Jacques Nienaber is on way out
There are growing fears that Jacques Nienaber is on his way from Leinster - and that there is an announcement scheduled for the coming days. The South African, who has spent two full seasons at the Irish province, has been the subject of initially tentative enquiries from French, England clubs and South Africa Rugby, that have now gathered significant pace. These approaches stem from the fact neither Nienaber, who's signed his current deal to July 2026, nor Leinster, have released details of an extension. "Jacques has been part of two Springbok World Cup winning squads and yet is still only an assistant coach at albeit one of the best clubs in the world," says a rugby insider. "But Leinster are not, and never will be, prestigious wage payers and he could probably treble, quadruple his money at some of the bigger Top 14 clubs or at one or two English clubs, depending on their owners' whims." Moreover, the idea that Leinster have finally shaken the trophy winning monkey off their back will add to Nienaber's lustre and Jake White's ringing endorsement last Saturday of the Leinster defence won't have fallen on deaf ears. "It would be wrong of me not to say Jacques' defence was outstanding. We tried bashing their line. They kept us out just before half time and it must have been a massive boost for them. "Credit to Jacques and the defence. We were a little bit one-off instead of running with numbers, people around the ball, but that's what happens when you're under the pump against a good team. 'Just tonight you saw the added value that he does as a defence coach. He's well, well known as that and he made it difficult for us. "We scored seven points and we had scored the second most amount of points in the competition this year and last year it was the most, and the year before it was the most so it just shows that they've obviously bought in to that element of their game. "Stuart Lancaster had a philosophy that was an attack philosophy, Jacques has come in and obviously tightened the defence and now the jigsaw puzzle is coming together because you haven't moved away from attacking and your defence has become much harder to break down. "You have to give credit where credit's due. Out of the three finals, this is by far the toughest final we've had. "Make no bones about it, they've gone another level up. That was Test rugby. It's like everything is in fast forward." The feeling inside the the rugby world though is that Nienaber, if he is set on leaving, has already been approached, knows the destination but, in respect to Leinster, it has been kept in-house. "Jacques is a very conscientious individual and would not want the story at the back end of a season which was fraught with difficulties in Leinster's case, to get diverted to being about him," continues the rugby source Nienaber has previously ruled out returning to South Africa but Rassie Erasmus is keen to have his former colleague as part of the coaching staff - possibly as Head Coach - for a crack at a third successive Rugby World Cup title in 2027 with South Africa. "I don't think Jacques owes Leinster anything, he contributed very much to their success this season. "But with a potential extraordinary treble on offer with South Africa or the possibility of becoming a €1-million per season coach at a wealthy French club the question starts to come down to what he thinks if best for his career and family in the long run." The question as to whether SA Rugby could afford Nienaber is moot, they are already paying Rassie Erasmus 15m Rand (€750k) per annum. French Top 14 clubs have a budget of €7m to allocate to 'coaching staff' any way they see fit while former Munster Head Coach Johan van Graan is estimated to be earning around €600k at Bath. As White says, there would be no shortage of contenders to fill his post should it become vacant. Leinster's machine will purr along nicely and it is nothing like as simple for Bulls. 'All credit to Leo too for bringing in guys like that. Where to for the Bulls? We've got to find ways in which we can catch up because I repeat, Leinster aren't going to come back towards the field. Leinster are going to keep moving forward. 'It's a bit like a Formula One racing car, if your pit stop is three seconds and theirs is two, and you think when you get it to two you could catch them but they've probably on 1.3 by then and you're still behind. 'So credit, as I said, Jacques has added that and I'm sure Leo will find other things they need to get better at. "Our job now is to make sure that we can find ways to fast track whatever we can fast track so that we can compete because we're going to find it hard to beat teams like Croke Park and Aviva if we don't catch up the things we need to catch up.'
The Irish Sun
7 hours ago
- The Irish Sun
Lando Norris crashes out of Canadian GP after collision with McLaren pal Piastri as F1 title race swings enormously
LANDO NORRIS took the flak for crashing into his teammate Oscar Piastri. The British McLaren driver held his hands up for the incident on lap 67 which left him out of the race at the Canadian Grand Prix with three laps to go. Advertisement 2 Lando Norris was able to walk away from his damaged McLaren but took the hit when it came to blame for the crash with fellow McLaren ace Oscar Piastri Credit: Getty The duo had been in the midst of a thrilling battle and Norris tried to nip ahead thinking there was a gap but instead ran into the back of Piastri and into the barrier. He came onto the team radio and said: 'I'm sorry. It's all my bad, all my fault. Stupid from me.' George Russell drove a superb race from pole to win his first race of the season while Max Verstappen took second ahead of Kimi Antonelli in third. Russell soared ahead from the start with Verstappen snapping at his heels, while Antonelli nipped ahead of Piastri. Advertisement READ MORE ON F1 It was a bumpy start for Alex Albon who took a trip across the grass with his Williams briefly going airborne. After pit stops from Russell and Verstappen, Norris was given a kick up the backside, as his race engineer came on the radio with some words of encouragement. He said: "Russell has pitted. This is plan A. We need one of those amazing races from you here." Lewis Hamilton suffered damage to his Ferrari after hitting a GROUNDHOG on the track, which affected his downforce. Advertisement Most read in Sport 2 Marshals rushed to recover the wing of Norris' car Credit: Getty BEST ONLINE CASINOS - TOP SITES IN THE UK Half way through and after a flurry of pit stops things had shuffled back to the same formation as the first stint. Russell was then storming away up ahead with a lead of over five seconds for the first time on 37 as Verstappen fell back and into the clutches of Anontelli. Advertisement Lando Norris punished by F1 bosses with five-second penalty after being snitched on by rival Max Verstappen The Italian teenager had DRS on Verstappen so Red Bull called him into the pits early once again before rejoining in sixth. On lap 49 Albon's afternoon came to an end with him pulling off track with a technical problem, well out of harm's way so no Virtual Safety Car was required. It was bunching up between the leading pack, with seven seconds suddenly covering the top five. Verstappen was snapping at Russell's heels with just over 1.5 seconds separating the bitter rivals while Norris in fifth was doing the same to his teammate Piastri in fourth. Advertisement The British driver even got within DRS range of Piastri who was being held up by Esteban Ocon in traffic. Drama erupted as the two McLarens came together and the safety car came out. Russell and Verstappen were sniping at each other under the safety car as the Dutchman felt he braked erratically while the Brit felt the Red Bull driver overtook him. Mercedes man Russell held on but it was overshadowed by drama in the McLaren camp. Advertisement
Irish Examiner
8 hours ago
- Irish Examiner
Togetherness key to success for Bath's Van Graan
Bath coach Johann van Graan praised the togetherness of his club after they beat Leicester 23-21 to win the Premiership title for the first time since 1996 on Saturday, three years after finishing bottom of the league. The South African oversaw the turnaround that took Bath to the final last year, before finishing the regular season 11 points clear this year and holding off a late fightback from old rivals Leicester to secure a memorable triumph in the final. "It's for every player, every staff member, everyone involved in the club, and especially the supporters," Van Graan said. "We spoke about connection and what I saw before the game when we got off that bus was one of the best experiences I've had in the game." The victory completed a superb treble this season after Bath earlier bagged the Premiership Cup and European Challenge Cup. "Winning the Challenge Cup was brilliant but at the start of the year the goal was to win the Premiership," said flyhalf Finn Russell. "It's special. This group, the city, the club deserves it. The work we've put in over the last few years and then what we do on the pitch is try to represent the city as best we can. "After last year's defeat, we bounced back really quickly and we managed to get the job done." Russell looked certain to score an interception try in the second half but then threw a pass to supporting Max Ojomoh, drawing gasps from the astonished Twickenham crowd. "He's a kid from Bath that grew up watching his dad (England and Bath flanker Steve) lifting this trophy, Russell said. "Giving him a little bit of limelight in the final was nice." Veteran scrumhalf Ben Spencer, a title winner with Saracens, said: "What we've done this year, to win three trophies like we have, is unbelievable. "When Johann came in, he completely turned this place around. We've got a really good group around him in terms of coaches, in terms of staff and we've gone from there and I think we've gone from strength to strength. "I'm not sure there's enough time to say what he brings. He has an unbelievable ability to stay calm at all times. At halftime he's great and we've had a really good ability to start from zero. "His ability to deal with people - 60-odd players who want to play every week - is amazing. The togetherness and strength of this group is just that - the group." Leicester coach Michael Cheika was proud of his team's effort but, not for the first time, was unhappy with the officials, who heavily penalised his team and sent two players to the sin bin. "The calls through the game went against us, the scrum calls were incredible, honestly, and some of the foul play ones. Dominating like that and getting nothing," said the Australian as his one-season stint came to a frustrating end. "Of course I'm slightly biased, but it was frustrating and when you come out of a final having scored more tries than the opposition it says something. "But I love this group of guys, and love the club and I'm so proud of the players for the way they came in there and stayed in it right to the end. We gave ourselves a chance to win it right at the end, but unfortunately it didn't go our way." Reuters
