“You always want to test yourself against the best perceived teams.”
Northampton Saints welcome Bath rugby to Franklin’s Gardens ahead of a seismic showdown for game week three of the PREM.
When looking ahead to the fixture on Saturday, October 10, Van Graan recalled how it’s “always amazing games” between the “two brilliant clubs.”
The South African further praised his side’s weekend opposition calling Franklin’s Gardens a “great place to play” and a “magnificent pitch.”
Bath vs Northampton fixture occurred three times in all competitions last season with Bath victorious twice compared to Saints’ one.
Across this trilogy, the home side were the winners on each occasion, Bath will look to break this when the two sides face off.
The last meeting between the two ended with late drama as Fin Smith scored a penalty with the last action in the game that ended 41 – 38.
Last time out, the two sides had differing results. Bath overcame Exter Chiefs 40 – 34, while Saints were bettered by Bristol Bears 41 – 26 at Ashton Gate.
The 46-year-old remains weary of Saints as a “very good attacking side, so, defensively we need to be well organised and use the opportunities.”
He added: “We’ve got to be better than them across the 80 minutes and hopefully it will be a fascinating game between two very good sides.”
Van Graan shared some team news for Saturday, revealing that winger Joe Cokanasiga despite being “a bit banged up, he came through training well, so, at this stage he’s available for the weekend.”
Another player that will hope to feature is Miles Reid.
Reid has a special connection to the Northampton fixture as he made his 100th appearance for his boyhood club against Saints and this weekend could mark his 150th.
The Bath Academy graduate looked back saying “[We’ve made] some amazing memories,” Reid further commented, “the 100th to 150th has gone by very, very quickly.”
“Time has flown by” and “when you’re enjoying stuff, time seems to zip past.”
With his attention focused on Northampton, Reid mentioned “We’ve come up against them a lot in the past, the difference could come in the first minute, it could come in the last minute, it’s staying in every moment.”
The back row forward reflected on Saints’ recent defeat, “any team after a defeat always wants to come out firing.”
He added: “You always want to test yourself against the best perceived teams in the Premiership.”
After Northampton, Bath travel to Gloucestershire to face the Cherry and Whites who Van Graan mentioned “are playing pretty good rugby.”
Gloucester currently sits top of the table with 10 points, level with Bath and Bristol but with a superior points difference.
Van Graan has prepared his team for the fixture, “After Northampton, our next one is Gloucester away, that’s what we planned for, our warmup games to be away because we play away so much in the first block.”
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