How Pep Guardiola helped Bath go from sink to swim... they'd hit rock bottom, but trips to Man City have transformed one of England's most historic clubs

June 4, 2022. Sixways. A Gallagher Premiership dead rubber between two struggling sides ends with Worcester scoring six tries in a comfortable 43-27 victory over Bath.

The visitors’ defeat is confirmation that one of England’s most historic clubs had hit rock bottom. Had Championship side Ealing been able to satisfy the required promotion criteria that season, Bath would have suffered the ignominy of relegation.

‘It was a tough time for everyone at the club and in the city,’ Tarquin McDonald, the club’s chief executive, told Mail Sport. ‘We had to commit to digging ourselves out of the position we were in. It was clear we weren’t on the right trajectory long before that season ended.

‘We knew we needed to change. We’d got caught in a loop of reactive decision making, always on the back foot.’

Bath had badly underperformed for far too long and that is putting it kindly. Two years on, the fans have a winning team again.

If they beat Sale in Saturday's home play-off, they will be just one step away from the league title. By anyone’s reckoning, their improvement has been as quick as it has been remarkable.

‘We’re ahead of schedule. The turnaround has been phenomenal. Once you start to get momentum, that’s incredibly powerful,’ McDonald added.

So, how have Bath done it?

Midway through the nadir that was 2021-22, Bath confirmed their signing of Johann Van Graan, a coach they had admired for some time, having tried to lure him in 2016. It meant that club legend Stuart Hooper, in charge at the time, had to be pushed aside.

It was a decision laced with emotion but Van Graan’s work is bearing fruit in his second season. Bath are favourites to beat Sale on Saturday and book a trip to Twickenham for the first time since 2015.

‘On my first day I said two things,’ said Van Graan. ‘One was a Pep Guardiola quote — the beast will always eat you alive unless you are yourself. The second is a golden rule for me — treat others the way you want to be treated. That was a starting point.

‘I use a quote, “A talent hits a target nobody else can hit, but a genius hits a target nobody else can see”. It was important to me that everybody at Bath could see the future.’

That future looks bright with Van Graan at the helm. Earlier this month, the club announced the South African signed a new long-term contract extension until at least 2030.

‘As a club you have to go back 30 years to the end of the Jack Rowell era for the last time we went through a second contract cycle with a coach,’ McDonald added.

‘It’s no surprise successful teams get the right people on board and build with them. We’ve lacked that. Bath is a proud rugby city.

‘We are a big club and big clubs need big players and big coaches. I think there is more pressure that comes with certain clubs. We wanted a world-class head coach to build something special. We’re seeing confidence and belief in the players now. The monkey is off their back. It’s brilliant.’

Van Graan lives and breathes his job, though he does stress the importance of time management. He lives on the luxurious Farleigh estate with his wife Melissa and three young children. ‘The two most important things in my life are my family and my faith,’ Van Graan said. ‘When we were at Munster, we became Irish. Now we’re in England and we’re English! We’ve immersed ourselves in the Bath community, the schools, and the church. The people of Bath have been so good to us.’

Owner Bruce Craig’s millions have long propped up Bath’s bid for success, but in the past the money has been spent poorly.

One piece of business pivotal to the revival has been the big-money signing of Scotland No 10 Finn Russell. Thomas du Toit has been a fine addition and Bath capitalised on Worcester and Wasps’ demise to sign Ollie Lawrence, Ted Hill and Alfie Barbeary.

‘I read Pep’s books and they fascinated me. At Bath we have a very good relationship with Manchester City which we’ve forged over the last two years,’ Van Graan said. ‘The last few times we’ve been to Sale we’ve spent a day at City, specifically learning about their academy structures. City’s staff visit us, too.’

Last season, Bath’s first under Van Graan, they finished eighth but seven losses by a margin of seven points or fewer suggested they were close to turning a corner. This season, they have been the only team to have stayed in the top four from start to finish.

‘We want to create longevity and success year in, year out,’ Van Graan said. ‘My belief is most successful teams stay together for a long time. One thing we’ve done really well at Bath is stay grounded and consistent whatever our results.

‘We’ve got to dream about making the final because you play in a competition to win it. I’d like to think we are a humble group but we’ve worked so hard to get to a semi-final, so we should enjoy it.’

Whatever happens against Sale, Bath are likely to be a force both in the Premiership and in Europe in the coming seasons.

Their on-field performance has certainly improved. Off it, the club is hopeful the long-awaited redevelopment of the Rec will be approved by a Bath planning committee later this year.

The place will be packed out again for the visit of Sale.

‘We’ve got amazing, passionate fans and we play right in the heart of the city,’ McDonald said. ‘We’d obviously know what we want the script to look like but whatever happens, we are enjoying these moments because of the tough times we’ve all been through.

‘We’re at the start of something and ready to launch. There is a really special opportunity out there for Bath. Now we need to go out and grab it.’