Bath coach Johann van Graan urges his team to “keep it simple” in Friday night’s EPCR Challenge Cup final against Lyon in Cardiff.
Bath previously won the second-tier European cup tournament in 2007-08 and reached the final in 2002-03, 2006-07 and 2013-14.
“A special moment for the club, the first European final that we as a group have played in,” said Van Graan, who joined Bath in 2022.
“I’m excited, looking forward to it, got to enjoy the moment as that’s what finals are about. It’s once-off, we’re playing against a good side, we respect them.”
Van Graan said his message to his players has been to “keep it simple, stick to your process, keep doing the things that got you in the final.”
Bath come into the final on the back of a 43-15 win over Leicester in the English Premiership that gave them a 15-point lead at the top of the log after 17 rounds.
“Credit to the players, this week has all been about what did we learn about Leicester, what can we do better this week and how do we adapt the plan for what’s coming on Friday night,” Van Graan added.
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Bath beat Pau, Gloucester and Edinburgh to reach the Challenge Cup final, while Lyon, who are 11th on the French Top 14 log, defeated the Sharks, Ospreys and Racing 92.
“Good maul – specifically their five-man maul – good scrum, they’ve got some fantastic broken-field runners,” Van Graan said of the threat they pose.
“We respect them for who they are but focus totally on ourselves.
“As a group, we needed to get to know them a bit more, but it’s been 90% focussed on ourselves, and what do we need to do and how do we improve, and 10% on Lyon.”
The winner of Friday night’s final will qualify for next season’s Investec Champions Cup.
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Photo: Ian MacNicol/Getty Images
