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REDEMPTION TIME: BATH V EXETER

Whoever drew up Bath’s fixtures for the start of the season clearly has an eye for a good story. 108 days after the most famous drop goal that never was, back we all go to The Rec for a repeat fixture against Exeter. Redemption time. Except, of course, not all victories are created equal. A win on Friday won’t make up for that expensive day out sitting on broken trains just to watch Saints beat Chiefs at Twickenham.
STOOP TO CONQUER

The 2026/27 version of the Blue, Mostly Black and White travel down the M4 to kick off the PREM season with a visit to Harlequins under the lights. It’s a scheduling repeat for these sides who also kicked off last season with the same fixture which saw Bath begin their title defence with a 31-47 win. On that occasion some questionable first half defence led to a Will Evans hat trick and an early deficit before Bath’s power took control to secure a bonus point win in West London.
PRE-SEASON ROUND 3: A GLASGOW KISS?

Many years ago my then boss was, amongst other things, a grizzled veteran of many seasons of rugby played at a reasonably high level. I mentioned a game that he was due to play on Sunday of that weekend and naively suggested that it should be a fairly easy recreational run out. Quick as a flash he snarled that "there's no such thing as expletive deleted "Sunday rugby"! His meaning was clear; every game requires the same positive mindset and to a certain extent the term "friendly" as applied to pre-season games is a similar misnomer. It'll be played in great spirit, but "friendly" is not necessarily the first term that comes to mind as we go head-to-head (hopefully not literally despite my opening title) against Glasgow Warriors this Friday at Old Anniesland.
A RETURN TO FRIENDL(IES) AT BEDFORD

A return to playing a couple of preseason matches building to the start of the Gallagher Premiership with the away match at Harlequins. I recall playing Bedford in the PREM Cup a couple of years ago when the Championship Clubs were admitted and we played Bedford and Ampthill. Their league has been rebranded “Champ Rugby”, presumably by the same marketing company that imaginatively rebranded the The Premiership Cup as the PREM Cup!
A SALE BEFORE THE SEASON

It seems very strange to be playing a “PREM” Cup game in very early September sandwiched between the friendly pre-season game at Perpignan and the pre-season friendlies against Bedford and a tougher warm up match against Glasgow. The format remains the same as last year and in our Pool, we have Sale, Bristol, Gloucester and Exeter and we play all of the teams home and away.
AND SO IT BEGINS…PERPIGNAN v BATH

JRR Tolkien didn’t actually pen those words in Lord of the Rings, rather Peter Jackson’s scriptwriters gave them to Théoden to utter at the start of the Battle of Helm’s Deep. Since then, the phrase has found its way into popular usage signifying the start of some challenging task. Bath Rugby won’t be facing hordes of Orcs, although on second thoughts we could all probably name a few of our rivals who fall into that category, but change is always challenging. Depending on how you deal with it you may either expose weaknesses and succumb to threats or preferably you might exploit it to reinforce strengths and grasp opportunities. So how are we placed to meet the challenges that the new season will bring?
REBUILD AND REVIVE: 2027 PREVIEW

Bath Rugby’s pre-season starts this week in Perpignan (more on that tomorrow), heralding the start of a crucial campaign for the club. The first bricks of the proposed new Rec stadium should be laid this coming summer, hopefully on an accelerated timetable and fans will hope for a return to honours after semi-final frustration in all 3 tournaments last season. So will we see continuing evolution of a dynasty to match the stadium ambitions? Let’s examine the chances.
Bath Academy & University of Bath Talent Watch (2026) -Backs

Bath's seamless senior squad to-academy-to-university pathway is arguably the strongest in England right now, producing a group of players who are already appearing in England U20 environments, BUCS Super Rugby title-winning teams, and senior Bath squads. Based on live viewing of university games and u20s rugby here is a personal view of the three quarters players who impressed last season plus also a flyer. Not all will breakthrough.
Bath Rugby Academy & University of Bath Talent Watch (2026)

I believe that the way Bath’s senior players, the Bath Academy and Bath University are currently integrated is a bit unique. Bath's pathway is arguably the strongest in England right now.There is of course an equivalent article covering the outstanding backs that emerged in the 2025/6 season: first this article will look at the forwards.The success of the season that led to the double is unusual in that the stand out players that attracted the headlines could not have plied their trade without contributions from a whole range of other players, the squad involved nearly 50 different players.This means that crediting emerging talent is difficult. However, there are some that deserve a mention even if they were not regulars.
LEARNINGS FOR NEXT SEASON. SEASON REVIEW CONTINUED.

Last week I reviewed Bath’s 2026 performance. Most responses to the question “was it failure, frustration or flatline?” seemed to opt for failure, though some optimists tended to suggest a plateau or ‘flatline’ effect. Many anticipated and have already expressed the points I had drafted for this second part of the review “So, where do we go from here?” As supporter debate continues, Van Graan has plenty to ponder while on his holidays, that’s for sure.