‘Never too high, never too low,’ is one of Johann van Graan’s most-used phrases. Win or lose, Bath’s head coach doesn’t get too carried away. That remains the case, even though the latest evidence suggests his team is simply not at the elite level that saw them claim a brilliant Treble in the 2024-25 season.
A 71-48 hammering at reigning PREM champions Northampton saw Bath drop out of the top four for the first time in more than three years. Then came an even more disappointing defeat in Europe – a 32-14 loss on home soil to Montpellier last weekend.
In their past 11 competitive matches, dating back to and including May’s Champions Cup semi-final defeat by Bordeaux, Bath have lost seven and won four. Not a crisis yet, but certainly a drop-off from the high standards Van Graan has been used to setting since the South African’s brilliant overhaul of the club began in summer 2022.
‘You can’t deny, Bath are not playing to their full capacity,’ club legend and former England prop Gareth Chilcott tells Daily Mail Sport. ‘What’s slightly concerning me is that they’re creating chances and not taking them.
‘Their discipline is a little bit wayward and they seem off the pace slightly. Bath have won lots of games by overpowering teams late on in games. They seem to have lost that little bit of an edge.’
When Van Graan joined Bath four years ago, he took charge of a club that was criminally underachieving at the wrong end of the PREM. He has since worked wonders, winning a first league title for 29 years in 2025 while also lifting the European Challenge Cup and PREM Rugby Cup in the same season.
Johann van Graan won’t be getting carried away, but his side have been in a rut in recent weeks
Northampton thumped Bath 71-48 last time out in the PREM, in a reminder of who the standard-bearers are in the English top flight
And that was followed by Montpellier hammering Bath on home turf in the opening round of the Champions Cup last weekend
Now, though, there appear to be a few chinks in their armour, just in time for a mouth-watering West Country Derby at bitter rivals and the PREM’s early leaders Gloucester on Friday night.
‘It’s not a crisis for Bath yet, but when a team that has been a high-flier starts to look like they’re faltering a little bit, then it’s understandable people ask questions,’ Chilcott says. ‘Once teams see you are beatable, it can be very difficult to win games.’
Bath’s success under the no-nonsense, methodical Van Graan has been built on the power of their forwards and a clinical edge. Bath used to be unstoppable from close range through the likes of hulking forwards Thomas du Toit and Alfie Barbeary, but both left the club in the summer.
The Montpellier game summed up Bath’s current travails. Their defence and set-piece was inconsistent and they missed a host of opportunities, summed up by wing Joe Cokanasiga dropping a sitter of a pass for what would have been a certain try had he collected. Star No10 Finn Russell was intercepted for a French score and his team conceded 15 penalties.
Bath are still creating opportunities – in each of their past three games, they have had more than 12 entries into the opposition 22. But against Montpellier, their average points per entry was just one.
‘If you don’t use your chances, you’re not going to win rugby games against top quality opposition,’ Van Graan admitted. ‘We had multiple opportunities five yards from their try line which we didn’t finish. It’s up to us to be better.’
Where Bath were once ruthless, there is now a degree of profligacy. The departure of juggernaut, try-machine Springbok prop Du Toit cannot be underestimated. When the likes of Ollie Lawrence, Guy Pepper and Ted Hill saw their salaries increase after initially signing on meagre terms, Bath had to juggle their squad and that meant there was no room for Du Toit and Barbeary, now with Saracens.
‘They were two really big players – Bath’s two biggest ball-carriers,’ Chilcott says. ‘That will take its toll. Du Toit was unbelievably good. There is no doubt they’re missing him and Barbeary.
Star No10 Finn Russell (right) has not quite hit the heights since Bath won the league in 2025
Springbok prop Thomas du Toit was a massive loss over the summer as he headed back to his homeland
‘Will Stuart has come back from a long-term injury. We know he’s a great England international and a Lion, but he’s a different type of prop to the big South African. He’ll take a while to get back into the swing of things.’
Van Graan lost his highly-rated attack coach Lee Blackett to England and replaced him first with Martin Gleeson and then Irishman Mike Prendergast. The club’s former head of recruitment Rob Burgess also left to become general manager at Gloucester and will now have eyes on beating his former employers.
Injuries have undoubtedly played a part too. Unheralded but hugely influential wing Will Muir hasn’t played since the Bordeaux loss, while captain Ben Spencer, Henry Arundell, Tom de Glanville, Miles Reid and Billy Sela have all had fitness issues at the start of the season.
Stuart is still working his way back to peak form after a serious achilles problem. His club and England team-mate Sam Underhill ruptured his bicep in the PREM-opening win at Harlequins.
New signing Dan du Preez, Barbeary’s replacement, has torn his hamstring and starting prop Beno Obano has already confirmed he is leaving for France, with Saracens’ Rhys Carre a leading contender to replace him.
‘They need to get back to winning ways as quickly as possible,’ says Chilcott. ‘It’s maybe ridiculous to say this so early in the season, but I think the Gloucester game is massive for Bath.’
One worrying trend for Bath fans has been their team’s tendency to fall away in the second half of matches.
In their shock home PREM semi-final loss to Exeter last season, Van Graan’s team conceded 17 unanswered second-half points to fall to a 26-27 defeat. Such a situation has not been a one-off.
One worrying trend for Bath fans has been their team’s tendency to fall away in the second half of matches
Joe Cokanasiga has lost his place for the trip to Gloucester on Friday night
‘We’ve not had everybody available and that’s been the theme of our season. But we never make a big issue out of it,’ Van Graan said. ‘We just back the next man. We are very comfortable with the way we do things and there is a lot of rugby to be played. There are still loads of players to come back.’
Van Graan, who has never lost at Kingsholm, has overhauled the team for the derby with eight changes, bringing in England Under 20s wing Tyler Offiah on the wing in place of Cokanasiga and starting young Italian Enoch Opoku-Gyamfi at lock. Offiah and Louie Hennessey get their first starts of the season.
With Bath not quite at the races and the Cherry and Whites the league’s most improved team by some distance, an enthralling game is anticipated – though a severe weather warning is in place.
Another loss for Bath would mean the storm clouds already gathering over them darkening even further.
