“We’re proud of the relationship between Bath and the university - It’s such as successful avenue”

Bath Head Coach Johann van Graan in attendance at the University of Bath's recent fixture against Hartpury
©BUCS Super Rugby

“If you look at the rugby world, we are one of the only clubs where a guy can play university rugby on Wednesday and then the following Sunday, he makes his European debut. We're very proud of that.”

Johann van Graan’s Bath side currently sit at the top of the Gallagher Premiership and are preparing to resume their pursuit of domestic glory when they travel to Newcastle Falcons this weekend.

And part of their success so far this season has been the management of their squad, with van Graan unafraid to rotate.

Just last weekend, 19-year-old hooker Kepu Tuipulotu was brought off the bench in the Investec Champions Cup against Benetton while emerging talent Billy Sela started the game.

Both Tuipulotu and Sela are still part of the set-up at the University of Bath, with the hooker scoring a hat-trick in their recent fixture against Cardiff at the start of December.

And it’s a partnership between club and university which van Graan holds in the highest regard.

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“It’s certainly a very strong relationship and a relationship we are very proud of,” Van Graan tells TRU.

“Certainly for us at Bath Rugby and Bath University, it’s been a really successful avenue. It's beneficial for both parties, but most importantly, it's beneficial for the players that are choosing to play rugby.”

BUCS Super Rugby has continued to make headlines in recent years. With the league producing more and more top-class talent and players moving into the professional leagues, van Graan explained the importance of the student game.

“I think what is so good is that it's competitive. It's played in all different parts of the country, and the standard is very good,” Van Graan continues.

“I've seen some lovely moments from it. I attended the Bath University game at The Rec a few weeks ago, and it’s so great to see a couple of thousand people there in the rain and beers flying when tries get scored!

“A very important point that I've seen in English rugby is, generally, we've got a lot of rugby trainers, but they're not rugby trainers. They're rugby players.

“So we need to get as many of the players in our squad playing a high level of rugby, whether that is for the university, a loan, or Championship club. We need to get guys playing more rugby.”

Overseeing the university side of things for Bath is wily Head of Rugby Aaron James who has seen the likes of Will Butt, Archie Griffin and Max Ojomoh - to name but a few - develop in BUCS Super Rugby before taking their next steps in the sport.

James, unsurprisingly, was full of praise for the current players who are involved with Bath Rugby and was bursting with pride about the university programme.

“We're very proud of those boys, and we're now on to the next ones. If you take Archie Griffin, he probably only played around 14 games for us, but then he got so good that he didn't play for us again!” James laughs.

“We’ve now got some other characters coming through that, hopefully, are developing. It’s massively important. We’re lucky to have some good examples of that development, and essentially, we're a development program that Bath Rugby has confidence in. It's probably one of their best loan clubs if you look at it that way.

“They've got an element of control and empathy, and it’s about working together. It’s a partnership that it’s clear both club and university are very proud of and provides a perfect relationship for both parties.

“We’ve always been linked to Bath for many years, probably a decade and the way I sort of use the analogy is sort of been girlfriend and boyfriend, but probably now we're a bit more married! 

“We’ve got an agreed partnership that includes resourcing, recruitment, and management of players, including two coaches, Mark Lilley [Bath Rugby Lead Academy Coach] and Ryan Davis who come in along with Connor McIntosh, our video analyst.

“I think we've got about 14 players linked through the academy in different sorts of guises. It’s something we’re very proud of and something that is still progressing, but you know, we're indebted to them in the relationship around the understanding, trust, and empathy they have for our programme.”

Key to the partnership is the relationship between James and van Graan, who clearly has an appreciation for what the programme brings not only to his squad but also to the development of future players.

“Johann watches some of the games and watches a lot of our training,” James adds. “ He's very entrenched, not only in Bath Rugby but in the wider rugby community. He’s a busy man, and his focus is, of course, on the first team, but I think his empathy for our programme and understanding is massive. 

“With these partnerships and sharing players, his input is through the key guys like Mark, Ryan and Connor, so he knows his team and he trusts it. 

“We work with them, and we're going to look at the things that we can do to support Bath Rugby because, ultimately, we're a development programme with a performance focus.

Van Graan added to James’ comments: “I have a very good relationship with Aaron, but again, what we started two-and-a-half years ago is Mark Lilley and Ryan Davis, who are involved with the university as well. 

“I think the most important bit is alignment and we are very proud of the club. If you look at the last year and where we are now, our eight teams have done really well.

“Whether you are Tom Dunn who's played more than 200 games, or you are Kepu, who has played one game, they're all training together, and I think there's a real power in that. That’s the system that we have embedded here, and it is starting to work really well.

Bath, of course, are not the only Premiership side who have benefited from BUCS Super Rugby as a development tool for players.

Exeter are a good example of this with the likes of Ross Vintcent and Tom Cairns making their way along the well-trodden path but a variety of other clubs have more than seen the value of the self-proclaimed ‘best league in the land’.

“As a league, there are massive examples around other clubs,” James reaffirms. “We've all got these set-ups now. You know, Exeter, Durham, Loughborough, a whole lot are working more and more with professional clubs to develop their players.

“All the best players will go on and some of them go quite quickly, but that's what we're about.”

As BUCS Super Rugby heads into the winter break,  James’ ‘band of brothers’ at Bath sit comfortably third in the table and are targeting a top-four finish.

“We have a target of being in the top four every year so to go into the Christmas break in third is within the target,” James says.

“We're pleased, but we're humble and still pretty driven to improve our performances, and the loss to Loughborough [47-24 in their final fixture before Christmas] is probably going to spur us on a lot.”

Defeat to league leaders and current BUCS Super Rugby champions Loughborough was just Bath’s second loss of the term with the Blue and Gold winning seven of their opening 10 matches.

Loughborough currently hold an eight-point cushion over second-placed Hartpury, who are beginning to look like a force once again.

Durham sit fourth - eight points behind Bath - with James’ side well-positioned for a tilt at the title when the league resumes on January 22nd.

And with the support of van Graan and Bath Rugby itself, the university have all the right tools at their disposal to kick on in 2025.