Wobbling champions Bath suffer new low under Johann van Graan

Clearly it is far too early to write off Bath’s chances of becoming the first team to defend their PREM title since Saracens in 2018-2019, or even claim a coveted home tie in the play-offs, but Johann van Graan’s side have lost momentum at just the wrong part of the campaign.

Exeter put a spanner in the works of the Blue, Black and White machine on Sunday by inflicting a 35-12 defeat on the reigning champions, which has left them second in the PREM table but only one point ahead of Leicester with three rounds of the regular season to go. It followed the 38-26 Champions Cup semi-final loss to Bordeaux-Begles and the agonising 41-38 defeat to Northampton in the PREM at Franklin’s Gardens.

The 23-point margin of defeat handed to them by the Chiefs yesterday was the biggest of the 29 losses suffered in the PREM by Bath under van Graan, beating the previous worst of 22 against Bristol (36-14 at the Principality Stadium in May 2025).

The only other bigger defeat taking into account PREM and Champions/Challenge Cup ties was the 47-21 loss to Leinster at the Aviva Stadium in January 2025.

Bath have also fallen to heavier defeats in the PREM Rugby Cup (29-0 v Bristol, 34-10 v Jersey Reds and 46-21 v Leicester) during van Graan’s glorious time at the club, but the South African has tended not to preside over these matches, leaving his assistants to take charge instead.

While Bath rested plenty of frontline players in their previous heaviest PREM defeat to the Bears this time last year, the matchday 23 fielded by van Graan at Sandy Park on Sunday was virtually the strongest he could put out, barring those that were injured such as Max Ojomoh, who given the indifferent form of Ollie Lawrence, would be a shoo-in in midfield if he were fit and wing Will Muir, while regular hooker Tom Dunn was rested.

This Saturday’s visit from bottom-of-the-table Newcastle, who are resigned to propping up the standings for a fourth consecutive year, could be just the antidote to the Bordeaux Champions Cup hangover that Bath need.

But then they face two massive games – away to Bristol, under the Ashton Gate lights on Friday May 29, and at home to another play-off contender, Leicester, on Saturday June 6. Bath will have hoped to have drawn a line under their top-two ambitions by then, otherwise van Graan’s famous notebook could have lots of red squiggles in it.