Bath 'embracing' pressure of home semi-final

Bath have reached their first Premiership semi-final in four years and a first at home in nine years

Bath are "embracing" the pressure of being in the Premiership semi-finals for the first time in four years, says head of rugby Johann van Graan.

Van Graan's side have home advantage when they take on Sale on Saturday at the Recreation Ground, after finishing second in the league table.

It is the first time in four years they have reached the Premiership's final four and their first home semi-final since 2014-15.

"I feel privileged enough to [have been] involved in Super Rugby semis, URC (United Rugby Championship) semis, a World Cup semi-final, my first Premiership semi-final and what I've learned through all the semis in different competitions is that this is not just another game," Van Graan told BBC Radio Bristol.

"We're not treating it as just another game. We're sticking to our process but we're excited about this game and we're embracing it.

"Is there extra pressure? Yes. Is there expectation? Yes.

"But we want to be in these games and we've got to perform on Saturday afternoon - we're preparing before that, acknowledging that we're coming up against a team that played in the final last year."

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After dominating English rugby during the late 1980s and 1990s, when they won six league titles in eight seasons, Bath have not lifted any domestic silverware since.

However, under Van Graan, who took over in July 2022, the club have been improving steadily after finishing bottom of the table two years ago.

Prior to facing Sale, the South African said the team's adaptability will be key.

"We've been growing our game now for the last two seasons," Van Graan said.

"[We] started off with our defence, our kicking game and our set-piece and we've added so many layers to our attack this season - averaging around four tries per game across all competitions - so we're not going to vary from the way that we play.

"The players in our team are good enough that the system caters for any given situation.

"We've got a nine [Ben Spencer] and a 10 [Finn Russell] that have an incredible kicking game - our world-class players have played in very high-profile games."

Captain and scrum-half Ben Spencer has been one of the players who have thrived since Johann van Graan took over at Bath

Club captain Spencer added that Bath will "not hold anything back" against the Sharks.

"We're all under no illusions that we've not won anything yet and we've got two massive games to hopefully lift the trophy at the end of the season," Spencer said.

"I think you've got to fly into both games and see where you end up."