The flowering of van Graan's plan

SURELY the most encouraging - or ominous - aspect of Bath’s commanding win over a lacklustre Lyon on Friday night was that it was achieved entirely without angst or drama.

- BRENDAN GALLAGHER

Their margin for error these days is huge. They can produce a competent, workmanlike, performance and still beat top sides by plenty which is an enviable state of affairs.

And this from a club and team that has become something of a soap opera in rugby’s professional years after a promising early burst which culminated in their Heineken Cup triumph over Brive in 1998.

That seemed to suggest an automatic continuation of the glorious amateur years of the 1980s but since then, save for one Challenge Cup trophy in 2008, it’s been a desert out there.

There were still great players aplenty but collectively they failed to deliver. Coaches came and went, apparently weighed down by expectation, not only in terms of delivering silverware but in producing teams that played the Bath way, whatever that means, and satisfying the loyal but demanding fans and they dreamed of a return to those halcyon days, rugby to adorn The Rec, rugby's most beautiful ground.