The three contenders were all West Country clubs, which highlighted how Gloucester, Bristol and Bath had all underperformed throughout the campaign.
They were left chasing the consolation prize. Gloucester and Bristol faded after strong starts and it will be Bath, who were bottom of the table for much of the season after losing their first six matches, joining the elite of Europe and South Africa.
“We said we had to become tough to beat and I feel we have,” said Bath’s head of rugby Johann van Graan who took over last summer after the club had finished bottom of what was then a 13-strong division.
“There is a clear way that we play the game now and we became better as our fitness improved. All credit to the players, but we still have a long way to go. Reaching the top eight is testament to the hard work of a lot of people.
“We talked from the beginning about connection, clarity and commitment and we kept fighting. You saw the commitment in our final game Saracens. You could see the belief was back.”
That belief will be stoked next season when the Scotland outside-half Finn Russell arrives after the World Cup in France. Bath’s attack improved considerably in the second half of the campaign: they secured a try bonus point in each of their last six matches and centre Ollie Lawrence was named the Premiership’s player of the season.
Bu hikaye The Rugby Paper dergisinin May 14, 2023 sayısından alınmıştır.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Giriş Yap
Bu hikaye The Rugby Paper dergisinin May 14, 2023 sayısından alınmıştır.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Giriş Yap
England show who's No.1
ENGLAND women’s head coach John Mitchell says his side will take valuable lessons from the 24-12 win over world champions New Zealand as they build towards their WXV1 title defence.
Skivington: We're going to roll dice and go for it
THE Cherry and Whites are the enigmas of the Premiership.
Looking to go one step beyond this time around
NE small step is what it will take for Bath to go one better than last season and secure the Premiership for the first time, but it would be one of the biggest taken by the club in the professional era.
Four-try England make it 17 wins on the spin
ENGLAND women opened the Allianz Stadium era at HQ with a victory over New Zealand to make it 17 wins on the bounce before their WXV title defence.
Time for Borthwick to prove his worth
HONEYMOON periods are not set in stone and in my estimation Steve Borthwick’s ends this summer. Don’t get me wrong, he’s still in good shape.
Barrington ready to power up the Mob
RICHARD Barrington has signed up to the Ampthill “Mob” reassured that he’ll still have a target on his back most weeks.
Skivington keen to build identity
GLOUCESTER won their first trophy for nine years last season and reached the Challenge Cup final, but when George Skivington went on holiday the day after the campaign ended the words in his head were never again.
Roebuck targets England success
WINNING a maiden England Test cap to top the best season of his career will not be enough for Sale winger Tom Roebuck.
Booth: Tough telling players I was leaving
TOBY Booth admits telling his Ospreys players that he would be leaving at the end of the season was one of the hardest things he has had to do in his career.
Stephens' debut try sees off old rivals
DORKING had to dig deep in another tight game between two old rivals, with the lead changing hands twice and result in doubt right up to the final whistle.
