1
Close to perfection: Johann van Graan's favourite game
By Jon Newcombe
For anyone associated with Bath Rugby, Christmas presents don’t get much better than Saturday’s 68-10 demolition of Saracens.
ADVERTISEMENT
A record win and 10 tries scored against one of the English game’s powerhouses ensured there was plenty of festive cheer by the banks of the River Avon.
It may be a new contender for Johann van Graan’s list of favourite performances he’s been involved in as a coach, but for now, the Bulls’ epic 61-17 win over the Chiefs in the 2009 Super Rugby final in Pretoria gets his vote.
When the YouTube highlights reel is 48 minutes long, you know it must be a classic, and van Graan lived the match for real as a young coach on the winning team.
The respective teams were captained by Victor Matfield and Mils Muliaina and the two XVs were littered with Springboks and All Blacks, and it didn’t take long for the match to ignite.
Stephen Donald, in the form of his life and showing pace that was never apparent during his time as a Bath player, set up the opening try for Lelia Masaga with a blindside burst as the Chiefs stunned the 55,000 crowd at Loftus Versfeld by taking a 7-0 lead in the seventh minute.
ADVERTISEMENT
Having been temporarily silenced, the Bulls faithful were back on their feet two minutes later to applaud Fourie du Preez’s try from a tap penalty, which prompted an avalanche of points, in one direction.
Du Preez scored a second and then set up Bryan Habana as the crowd sensed something special was brewing. Habana then ran in an intercept to match du Preez in bagging a double, while the metronomic boot of Morne Steyn inflicted further damage on the scoreboard.
Turning around 31-7 in arrears, the Chiefs hit back with a classy score from Muliaina. But that only proved to be the cue for the Bulls to go on the rampage again, as four more clinical tries followed from Matfield, Wynand Olivier, Pierre Spies and Danie Rossouw.
“I always think back to that game at a full Loftus, that day was the closest to perfection that I’ve been a part of a team,” recalled van Graan.
ADVERTISEMENT
“That was a special group of players and it, literally, came from 2002. We’d had seven years together and it was our second Super Rugby final.”
The Bulls successfully defended their Super Rugby crown in 2010 and two years later, van Graan landed a job on the Springbok management team.
After six years in Test rugby, van Graan moved to Munster and then Bath. Whilst he failed to revive Munster’s fortunes, van Graan is now threatening to restore Bath to their place at the top of the English game.
But the search for perfection goes on.
Watch the highly acclaimed five-part documentary Chasing the Sun 2, chronicling the journey of the Springboks as they strive to successfully defend the Rugby World Cup, free on RugbyPass TV (*unavailable in Africa)
