Bath were declared as a 'broken club' just a couple of seasons ago - but now thanks to Bok beasts, quad bikes and karaoke they are dreaming of glory, writes CHRIS FOY
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Bath fans have been coming to matches armed with flags bearing the club’s colours and the logo ‘In JVG we trust’, in tribute to the South African who they believe can bring them a first major prize of the 21st century. The initials stand for Johann van Graan and his West Country team stand for upward mobility. On Sunday, they are at Northampton for a repeat of last season’s Premiership Final, which ended in an agonising four-point defeat, but that result did not derail the grand project. Far from it. Bath responded by thrashing the champion Saints 38-16 on the opening weekend of the current campaign and they have so far won eight of their nine league games, to sit top of the table.
![[His side suffered a painful defeat to Northampton Saints in last year's Premiership final]](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2025/01/04/22/93744457-14249973-image-a-119_1736029180629.jpg)
Last weekend, they subjected mighty Saracens to a record-breaking 68-10 ordeal at The Rec; a far cry from the corresponding fixture in October 2021, which the London club won 71-17. In that season of horrors, Bath were also dismantled 64-0 by Gloucester at Kingsholm and finished bottom of the 13-team pile. They would have been consigned to relegation if it hadn’t been abolished.
![[But this season has seen them rebound impressively, and they currently sit top of the league]](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2025/01/04/22/93744739-14249973-image-a-125_1736030164217.jpg)
Van Graan inherited an almighty mess and has since declared ‘we were broken as a club’. But he has cleared up the mess and overseen the sort of transformation which was beyond the likes of Sir Ian McGeechan and Todd Blackadder during their tenures in charge. So, what has happened to put Bath on track for their first Premiership title since 1996 and their first marquee triumph since they won the old Heineken Cup for the only time in 1998?.
![[The club have recruited wisely in recent years, with Finn Russell proving transformative since his arrival]](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2025/01/04/22/93744553-14249973-image-a-120_1736029345873.jpg)
