{"id":547835,"date":"2026-04-24T07:04:13","date_gmt":"2026-04-24T07:04:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/547835\/"},"modified":"2026-04-24T07:04:13","modified_gmt":"2026-04-24T07:04:13","slug":"toughest-two-months-in-baths-history-could-leave-them-with-nothing","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/547835\/","title":{"rendered":"Toughest two months in Bath\u2019s history could leave them with nothing"},"content":{"rendered":"

Love them for their unyielding self-belief or loathe them for their advantageous financial situation, Bath<\/a> are back in the big time. They are an infinitely stronger squad than the one that lifted three trophies last season \u2014 physically, technically and, perhaps most importantly, mentally.<\/p>\n

They are going to need all of the mental strength that helped them overturn a 21-point deficit against Saturday\u2019s opponents<\/a> and league leaders, Northampton Saints<\/a>, in the Champions Cup quarter-finals a fortnight ago. This time, the sides clash in the Gallagher Prem, and this time in the east Midlands. Home advantage counted hugely in Europe. The Recreation Ground roared their heroes to what seemed at one stage the unlikeliest of victories.<\/p>\n

Logic says that, had the match been played in Northampton, the 16th man would have got the Saints across the line. Phil Dowson\u2019s team rebounded with an impressive late win away to Exeter Chiefs \u2014 a result that keeps them in position to finish top. Bath had the benefit of an easy afternoon at home to Harlequins<\/a> but now the run-in becomes brutal for Johann van Graan\u2019s team.<\/p>\n

Bath fingers will be firmly crossed, hoping that Saracens can see off Leicester Tigers hours before Saturday\u2019s titanic clash. Geoff Parling\u2019s Tigers remain the third-best team in England but one capable of beating Northampton or Bath given the advantage of a home semi-final. They have already defeated Bath on their own patch. In the next round of fixtures they face Saints in front of the Crumbie Stand. By close of play in round 14, it could all be very claustrophobic at the top, and Leicester will have their eyes on a top-two finish.<\/p>\n

Bath, the headline-grabbers, could feasibly be out of that top two, fighting to secure a home semi-final with games to come against two West Country rivals, Exeter and Bristol Bears, who will be eager to bloody Bath noses on their own turf. To round off the regular season, who do Bath face? Leicester at The Rec.<\/p>\n

God knows what state Bath\u2019s much-touted squad will be in come the final round. Take a home game against Newcastle Red Bulls out of the equation and Bath are staring at the hardest two months in their history.<\/p>\n

I haven\u2019t yet mentioned the small matter of a trip to Bordeaux, where the European champions await them after brushing aside mighty Toulouse 30-15 in the quarter-finals. That is the match that holds the key to Bath\u2019s season. The contrast with the previous campaign could not be greater.<\/p>\n

\"BathEwan Richards, left, enjoys scoring Bath\u2019s fifth try against Harlequins last weekend \u2014 but far stiffer tasks lay ahead bob bradford\/Getty images<\/p>\n

Last season, Bath endured what was described in one report as an \u201cagonising last-gasp defeat at Benetton 22-21\u201d. Far from being agonising, it was a blessing for Bath\u2019s heavily rotated side. They were able to focus on winning a first domestic title for 29 years, while hardly having to stretch their resources in adding the Premiership Rugby Cup (an opportunity to develop players), and the European Challenge Cup (an afterthought compared to the Champions Cup).<\/p>\n

It is very different now, because they are zoned in on the \u201creal\u201d double \u2014 meaning they are vulnerable to ending the campaign with nothing. By shooting for the moon they could end up nowhere.<\/p>\n

Northampton can throw everything into Saturday\u2019s game. It is not a disruptive matter of revenge (that would be the case if the sides collide at Twickenham in the Prem final) but gaining more breathing space at the top \u2014 and climbing closer to that all-important home semi-final. In the process, it is possible that Leicester would also close the gap between second and third. Van Graan has immense faith in one of the strongest squads English club rugby has witnessed but Saints, at home without any distractions, have to be favourites.<\/p>\n

\"BathBath\u2019s progress to the Champions Cup semi-finals means they are fighting for silverware on two fronts as they try to defend their domestic titleSimon King\/Shutterstock Editorial<\/p>\n

Facing Bordeaux B\u00e8gles, in the city where Bath won their only Champions Cup (in the glory days of it being the Heineken Cup), will be a distraction, no matter what their coach claims. Losing to Northampton would not end a dream, but Sunday week marks the second-biggest match in Bath\u2019s European history, with no safety net in sight. That Bordeaux tie looms and it must be playing on Bath minds. They would not be human if it wasn\u2019t.<\/p>\n

This column has deliberately chosen not to address the selected 23 for the visit to Northampton. It doesn\u2019t matter. Van Graan doesn\u2019t see a season as a sequence of 1-23s, let alone 1-15s. His is a carefully plotted selection strategy with minutely detailed preparation. No matter the selection, nor how much trust is placed in Saturday\u2019s 23, no matter how mentally switched on they are to face Northampton, Bath will have thoughts, deep down, of what is coming their way in the shape of Louis Bielle-Biarrey, Matthieu Jalibert and co.<\/p>\n

Given the epic nature of the challenge awaiting Bath and the clarity of Northampton\u2019s focus, it would be perhaps an even finer achievement for Bath to prevail this Saturday than it was in the quarter-final after Ted Hill\u2019s late try.<\/p>\n

If Bath do beat Bordeaux, there\u2019s the small, emotionally charged matter of Bilbao and a Champions Cup final before coming up against play-off chasing Bristol, away, and Leicester at The Rec. Then a Prem semi-final and the probability of a final (if they finish in the top two) against Northampton, who would be the fresher team and thirsting for revenge.<\/p>\n

Had Bath lost by two points to Northampton a fortnight ago, I may have made them favourites to win the Prem. As it is, because of their European success, they are possibly less likely to win either of the trophies they are chasing.<\/p>\n

This is as good a Bath team as I have seen but no Bath team have ever faced such a daunting two months of fixtures and a side quite like Bordeaux B\u00e8gles. It\u2019s just as well their self-belief seems bottomless.<\/p>\n

Northampton Saints v Bath<\/p>\n

Gallagher Prem
Saturday, 5.30pm
TV TNT Sports 2<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Love them for their unyielding self-belief or loathe them for their advantageous financial situation, Bath are back in…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":547836,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[35],"tags":[5903,101,56,54,55],"class_list":{"0":"post-547835","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-rugby","8":"tag-rugby","9":"tag-sports","10":"tag-uk","11":"tag-united-kingdom","12":"tag-unitedkingdom"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/547835","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=547835"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/547835\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/547836"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=547835"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=547835"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=547835"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}