Outside of Johann van Graan’s beaming smile on Friday night, Heyneke Meyer’s smile would have been as big when the whistle sounded for Bath’s EPCR Challenge Cup final win against Lyon in Cardiff.
Former Bok coach Meyer has always been the mentor to Van Graan, from the days when he welcomed him to the Bulls professional squad as a 16-year-old technical analyst.
The man-child is no more, Meyer told me recently. Van Graan is all grown up as a rugby coach and very much the boss at Bath, said Meyer. All that remained was big silverware for Van Graan, added Meyer, who was insistent the EPCR Challenge Cup trophy would go to Van Graan. He is also backing the South African to guide Bath to English Premiership title glory.
Bath finished top of the table in the regular season but on Friday night the focus was on the Challenge Cup, a title won by South Africa’s Sharks a season ago.
Bath won easily, 37-12, but it could have been different had flanker Sam Underhill been red carded for an ugly head clash. Instead, it was deemed just a yellow and Underhill would be influential for most of the final.
For once, fortune favouried Van Graan. It is long overdue.
His journey from Loftus in Pretoria to Cardiff last night is a damn cool one. He worked under Meyer and Frans Ludeke in a Bulls set-up that included icons Victor Matfield, Bakkies Botha, Danie Rossouw, Fourie du Preez and Morne Steyn.
Learning curve
He learned as much from them as he gave in terms of insight and analysis.
Van Graan, who contributed to three Bulls Super Rugby titles, continued evolving as Meyer’s right hand with the Springboks between 2012 and 2015, culminating in a World Cup bronze.
Van Graan was just 32 years old when with the Boks, with several players older than their technical advisor. Now, at just 45, he is a winner at Bath, having also won praise for his efforts as Munster head coach when succeeding Rassie Erasmus and Jacques Nienaber.
Erasmus and Nienaber left Munster for the Springboks and won successive World Cup titles, and it was their recommendation that sealed the Munster deal for Van Graan.
Many questioned Van Graan’s career trajectory when he signed with Bath, with the club broken and in total disarray, having lost 64-0 to Gloucester in the 2021/22 season.
Van Graan knew the history of Bath and vowed to return the club to its former glory and ensure the Rec Ground again became a fortress. The results have been remarkable. In his first season Bath finished eighth and qualified for the Investec Champions Cup. In year two they finished second in the Premiership and this season they finished top of the Premiership for the first time in 22 years.
Growth area
Van Graan’s biggest growth area, said Meyer, was in his selection and recruitment. The very best coaches are the very best selectors. He identified well and his signing of Springbok prop Thomas du Toit from the Sharks was a masterstroke.
Du Toit, in the past two seasons, has played 49 matches for Bath and scored 20 tries.
Comfortable playing either side in the front row, Du Toit has also improved his all-round game to the point that he is now a regular in the Springboks set-up.
Many have touted Van Graan as a successor to Erasmus, should the Bok coach decide he does not want to continue after the 2027 World Cup in Australia.
Van Graan may have other ideas, with the obvious goal being winning the Investec Champions Cup with Bath.
The 2023 World Cup-winning Nienaber is another obvious choice should Erasmus want a break from coaching the Boks, but for now Erasmus is going nowhere and South African rugby is comfortably a world leader in coaching excellence, be it in Japan (through Ludeke) or in the URC (through Nienaber at Leinster, Sean Everitt at Edinburgh, Franco Smith at Glasgow, John Dobson at the Stormers and Jake White at the Bulls).
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