It has provided a natural breather for the squad and coaches going into an important block of the season which will hopefully see the Blue, Black and White advance up the table following some positive on-field displays.

Head of Rugby Johann van Graan has outlined how the past few weeks have looked in the build-up to this weekend against London Irish.

“We had a week where players and staff got a week away from rugby which provided balance and was nice for everyone to spend some time with the family.

“We then came back and had a good week of training and now we’re looking forward to this next five-week block of games.”

Another strange circumstance means that it has taken six weeks into the New Year for Bath to play at The Rec in front of the home support!

“The last one was the rain against Newcastle!” van Graan recalled.

“The weather the past few weeks has been class so hopefully we’ll get good weather, good pitch conditions on Saturday and two teams that want to play.

“The fans at The Rec have supported us well every game this season and I believe we’ll be close to a sellout which is pretty normal for us at The Rec!

“Hopefully we as a group can perform to their and our expectations, we really want that 80-minute performance.”

MATCH DETAILS - bath rugby v london irish

When: Saturday 18 February, 15:00
Where: The Rec
Competition: R17 Gallagher Premiership
Coverage: Match Centre, BBC Radio Bristol, PRTV Live
Referee: Wayne Barnes
Assistant Referees: Anthony Woodthorpe & Wayne Falla
TMO: Rowan Kit

london irish PROFILE

Formed: 1898
Stadium: Gtech Community Stadium
Director of Rugby: Declan Kidney
Captain: Matt Rogerson
Finish last season: 8th

HONOURS

Championship: 2016/17, 2018/19
Premiership Rugby Cup: 2001/02
Surrey Cup: Four time between 1980 and 1987
Premiership Rugby Sevens Series: 2012

ONE TO WATCH – AGUSTIN CREEVY

The most capped Argentina international of all-time, captaining his country for the majority of his appearances, Creevy is a leader who has excelled for Irish since joining in 2019/20. He is physical presence in the Exiles' pack with a strong set-piece game, and he possesses a great try-scoring ability - crossing the whitewash 21 times in 63 Premiership matches.

TRY REWIND

Jonathan Joseph finished off a fantastic try with an unbelievable display of athleticism to score in the corner against Irish a few seasons back.

join us at the rec

The next three matches at The Rec are:

London Irish (Foundation Day!), Sat 18 Feb, 15:00
Bristol Bears, Fri 24 Feb, 19:45
England U20 v France U20, Fri 10 Mar, 20:00

We look forward to you joining us!

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Bath Rugby’s Match Preview is delivered to you by Huboo – the club’s Official Training Wear Partner. For more information on Huboo, visit www.huboo.com

Huboo Match Preview: London Irish (H - Round 17)

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