Bath Rugby's Historic Treble: A New Era of Dominance Begins

Bath Rugby ends a 29-year wait for the Premiership title, securing a historic treble under captain Ben Spencer and coach Johann van Graan.

Captain Ben Spencer has declared that the 'sky is the limit' for Bath Rugby after the team ended a 29-year wait for a Premiership trophy and clinched a historic treble. The triumph came after a nail-biting 23-21 final victory against Leicester Tigers at Twickenham on Saturday.

A New Era for Bath Rugby

Bath's victory marks their first league title since 1996, adding to the Premiership Rugby Cup and European Challenge Cup silverware they won earlier in the season. Spencer, who joined Bath in 2020 after a successful stint with Saracens, has been instrumental in the team's resurgence.

Spencer's Leadership

'The future of this club is unbelievably bright,' Spencer said. 'No matter who pulls on the shirt, it's next man in. The work ethic is second to none. As long as we keep our feet on the floor and keep on wanting to get better, the sky is the limit for this team.'

Van Graan's Vision

Head coach Johann van Graan, who took over three years ago, has been pivotal in transforming Bath from a team that finished bottom of the league to treble winners. 'The amount of hard work this has taken to turn the ship around... we were bottom three years ago,' Spencer noted. 'I can't credit [Van Graan] enough, he's been absolutely brilliant.'

Looking Ahead

Van Graan emphasized that the journey is far from over. 'I'll set the vision, we'll align as a group, and we'll take whatever's next,' he said. 'Champion teams are teams that win things multiple times. The day you stand still is the day somebody catches you.'

Relief and Excitement

Spencer admitted to feeling 'relief' at the final whistle, given the prolonged build-up to the final. 'To get the mindset right when you qualify early as we did is quite tough,' he said. 'I played that semi-final in my head hundreds of times. Day in, day out it was 'who are we going to get?' It's a hard place to be mentally.'

The Road Ahead

With international commitments, including the British and Irish Lions tour, the squad will reconvene in September for pre-season training. Van Graan is already looking forward to the next challenge. 'We'll look at ourselves and we'll go again. It's a journey, there's no end point,' he said.

Bath Rugby's historic treble is not just a testament to their hard work but also a promise of more to come in the future.

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