Bath boss Van Graan urges side to keep discipline

Johann van Graan took over Bath in 2022 after leaving Irish side Munster

Bath director of rugby Johann van Graan has urged his side to keep their discipline in their Premiership semi-final against Bristol on Friday.

Van Graan's side finished the regular season with 72 points, 11 points clear at the top of the Premiership standings, and 14 clear of fourth-placed Bristol.

But the South African is wary of the threat Bath's local rivals pose, having lost twice to the Bears in the league this season already.

"This is our third semi-final we've played this season and I'll just say the usual - make sure you're disciplined, stick to what you do and make sure you perform on the day," Van Graan told BBC Radio Bristol.

It has been a historic season in many ways already for Bath, having already completed a cup double by winning the Premiership Rugby Cup and European Challenge Cup - ending a drought of 17 years without a trophy.

And ahead of Friday's match, Van Graan has taken time to look back on his three years at the club having described Bath as "broken" when he took the helm in 2022.

"When we started, to get to Twickenham looked kind of impossible," he said.

"We had a mountain to climb but step by step everyone at the club did it.

"I was very proud of the group that we passed another milestone. If you think back to the first year, our last game was to get ourselves into the Champions Cup."

Charlie Ewels (right) has made 16 starts for Bath this season, including his side's Challenge Cup final victory against Lyon in Cardiff last month

Bath lock Charlie Ewels has also been complimentary about Friday's opponents in the build-up to the match.

"They're a very good team, that's what I've taken from those matches," he said.

"Obviously there's an extra level as it's a derby around the fans.

"We've played them a few times this season - in the cup, twice in the league. At Cardiff we played different teams against them.

"They will be very well prepped, we'll be very well prepped and we'll be really looking forward to it."

Ewels has emphasised his side's need to "trust the process", a similar mantra coined by his coach last month, in order for Bath to go one step further and win the Premiership on 14 June to complete a historic treble.

But he is not using last season's defeat in the final against Northampton Saints as extra incentive to inspire the club to what would be their first league title since 1996.

"I can honestly say the full-time whistle went and I was gutted for maybe a minute or two," the 29-year-old added.

"And then I thought, what more could any of us have done? I gave everything and I looked around me and everyone gave everything.

"If you do that, with anything in life, it was quite easy to get over."