Bath looking to right the wrongs after Saints walloping

Bath are not used to losing Gallagher PREM matches and even less so, not picking up any points from a game.

So when they take on Exeter Chiefs in arguably the game of the New Year weekend, it will be off the back of their first pointless outing in nearly two years.

You have to go back to New Year’s Eve 2023 for the last time Johann van Graan’s men failed to take anything from a league encounter, prior to Saturday’s shock 41-21 defeat to Northampton Saints.

The response to that final quarter flurry from Northampton, when Lions pair Tommy Freeman and Henry Pollock were the catalysts for a stunning away win, could naturally be an emotional, visceral one.

But under Van Graan, as well as the outstanding rugby, a big priority has been remaining on an even keel, whether the results are good – as they have so often been – or not, as was the case last Saturday.

The director of rugby explained: “I think firstly, we came up against a side that played really well. I thought we did some really good things, especially in the first half. The bits out of our game are that we didn’t finish the opportunities on their try line in the first half.

“Ultimately, the fight is never an issue, we fought until the second last play when unfortunately we dropped it over the try line. We might not win every game but we will always stay in the fight. You won’t win every single game but the fight will still be there.

“I’d say hunger and wanting to play is and has never been an issue here. If we had to change everything we do this week, we would become an emotional team, like when you lose you need to train harder and when you win, you don’t need to train as hard. Every week, whether we win or lose, we’ll take our learnings and move forward.”

Emotional response or not, Bath have a chance to get straight back at it against Exeter Chiefs, the team directly above them in the table.

Rob Baxter’s side have been one of the success stories of the campaign so far, with wins away to Sale and Saracens already under their belts.

But Bath lost just once at home in the league all of last season and rarely drop two on the spin. They could also have a trio of reinforcements with Alfie Barbeary, Will Muir and Bernard van der Linde approaching a return.

The latter received plenty of plaudits over the off-season as a scrum-half addition but has been sidelined with a hamstring injury.

That appears to be behind him however, with a potential competitive debut incoming.

Van Graan added: “Bernard almost scored a fantastic try in training. I walked over to him and said ‘You are good to go now’.

“It was great to see him back in full training.”