Bath coach Johann van Graan gambled on squad rotation ahead of a blockbuster Investec Champions Cup semi-final, and so very nearly pulled off one of the English Premiership’s great wins.
The reigning Premiership champions went down 41-38 to the Northampton Saints in a top-of-the-table thriller at Franklin’s Gardens on Saturday, despite fielding a heavily changed line-up.
Both sides scored six tries apiece, with the difference ultimately being a last-gasp Fin Smith penalty.
Van Graan rested a host of frontline stars with one eye firmly on the Champions Cup semi-final against Bordeaux on Sunday.
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Bath took on Saints without leading stars Thomas du Toit, Finn Russell, Santi Carreras, Ollie Lawrence, Ben Spencer and Tom Dunn, and only just fell short.
Despite the defeat, Bath’s performance will have encouraged Van Graan ahead of their trip to face Bordeaux Bègles in France.
“We believe in open communication and the players know when they’ll play over the coming weeks,” he said. “If we win or lose, we plan for everything, and then even still, when rugby throws up scenarios we haven’t planned for, we adapt accordingly.
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“For us, it’s a massive positive. I know there are questions on the outside about being in both competitions, but we want to play in as many games as possible,” he added.
“Last year, we played in every playoff game possible. It’s great to be alive in the Champions Cup and within a shout of making the [Premiership] playoffs.”
Saints pulled four points clear of Bath at the top of the Premiership standings, but Van Graan’s men have a Champions Cup date at the Stade Atlantique Bordeaux Métropole.
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Photo: David Rogers/Getty Images
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