Can Bath Rugby Improve This Season?

Figure 1 Bath rugby needed to improve from last season

Even if you are a newcomer to Bath, you will not have failed to notice that this is a rugby city. The Blue, Black and White colours can be seen all around the place and there is always a buzz in the air on match day as the fans make their way to The Recreation Ground in the centre of town.

But things have not been going too well so far this season. There have been a lot of changes off the pitch and that has obviously had an impact on it. The whole sport of rugby is going through a worrying time at the moment – especially at club level. But even if the sports betting sites don’t fancy our chances, the fans will get behind the team. Can the players respond?

Pre-Season Turmoil

Bath has a long and successful rugby history. The club has never been relegated from the top tier and was the first English side to lift the European Cup in 1998. But this season in the Gallagher Premiership always seemed like it was going to be a tough one.

It was a miserable season last year, with Bath winning just five games and finishing dead last in the table. In came new Director of Rugby and head coach, Johann van Graan, The former Munster man immediately changed the very fabric of the club that had stagnated in recent years.

The training facilities were completely upgraded and changed to help Bath improve on facets of the game that were sorely affecting results last year. New signings were also brought in to help the club avoid a repeat of the embarrassment of last term. Although there was a lot of change, it was obviously needed, as Bath only stayed up thanks to regulations – not points.

The Season So Far

The good news is that there has definitely been a difference on the pitch. But the new training regime will not have overnight success – and results this season have not been overly encouraging so far. Work on teamwork and contact skills may have made Bath a more fearsome opponent, but the team still lost its first six games.

Van Graan may point to the slender margin of defeats as a positive – and that is true. But that is still not a good start to a campaign that desperately needed some improvement from last year. There is light at the end of the tunnel though. A hard-fought win over high-flying Northampton brought the first win points of the season and helped Bath climb the table.

There need to be more victories soon though. The Gallagher Premiership itself is in something of a mess, so Bath needs to concentrate on what is going on at the club and come through this worrying time.

Figure 2 English club rugby is going through a worrying time

Club Rugby in Crisis?

Regular fans of rugby will not be surprised at what has gone on this year at the top level of English rugby. But from the outside, it must seem incredible that two of the Gallagher Premiership clubs have been forced to suspend operations. If the likes of Worcester and Wasps go under, what hope is there for others in the league?

Bath rugby doesn’t seem to be in the same kind of financial trouble that caused the RFU to suspend Wasps and suspend and relegate Worcester. But these are worrying times. For too long there has been overspending in English rugby and now, unfortunately, the situation is coming to a head.

Can Bath Get Better?

Johann van Graan’s arrival already seems to be having a positive effect on the players and the club. Both have been hampered by the long-term injury to England lock Charlie Ewels, but the players brought in to deal with that – and other problems – have begun to gel now.

Van Graan, as Director of Rugby, will be the most important part of Bath’s resurgence. It may take longer than the fans would want but even steady improvement should be applauded. It is going to be a tough time for English club rugby over the next few years, so having a club at all is going to be something to be proud of.