Bath have ‘no regrets’ insists Van Graan

Saints, who finished top of the Premiership above second-placed Bath, beat Van Graan's side 25-21 to at Twickenham to clinch their first title in a decade. "I can't be prouder of this group," Van Graan said.

Bath head coach Johann van Graan insisted his squad had ‘no regrets’ in the wake of their narrow Gallagher Premiership Rugby final defeat to Northampton Saints.

In a tense encounter at Twickenham, it was a late try from Alex Mitchell that secured a first title in ten years for the Saints.

Bath, however, played their part in a gripping finale, one which made all the harder for them following the first half dismissal of prop Beno Obano for a high tackle on Jarno Augustus in the 21st minute.

“I can't be prouder of this group," said South African van Graan. "From a belief point of view, everybody at the club stuck in it until the last play of the game and we as a group have got zero regrets."

Former Munster coach van Graan has taken Bath from a team that finished bottom of the league table to a Premiership final in two years - and the 44-year-old said he was not going to speak about the future yet although Bath - who retain the bulk of their squad under contract having extended deals with a number of key players - will surely start the 2024-25 campaign among title favourites.

"There's a belief in what we do, in the past 23 months we've clearly become a group that know what we're about," said van Graan.

Meanwhile, Bath captain Ben Spencer called his side’s performance ‘heroic’ in the wake of their defeat.

The England international scrum-half - who won four Premiership titles with Saracens - said that the team showed their character to bounce back from the red card and go on to be the better side for much of the second half.

"I think we showed what sort of team we are. A team's that's tough to beat, a team that's hard to play against and a team that loves a challenge," said Spencer.

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