Bath rugby

Bath rugby
Full name	Bath Rugby Football Club
Founded	1865
Stadion	Recreation Ground
Places	12,300
president	Bruce Craig
Trainer	Stuart Hooper
Homepage	www.bathrugby.com
league	Aviva Premiership
2018/19	6th place
home	Away

Bath Rugby (officially Bath Rugby Football Club ) is a rugby union club from the English city of Bath , which plays in the English top division, the Aviva Premiership . The home games are played in the Recreation Ground stadium. Bath Rugby is one of the most successful English clubs ever with six league titles and ten cup wins.

history

The association was founded in 1865, making it one of the oldest in the country. At first they played on various rented fields, but then Bath Rugby was able to acquire a piece of land on Pulteney Meadow next to the River Avon in 1880 , which is now the Recreation Ground. Opponents in the first few decades were mostly clubs from the area, from the 1890s onwards, more and more Welsh teams were added. In 1907 the Racing Club de Bordelais from France was the first foreign club to visit.

During the Second World War 17 players died in combat and the Recreation Ground was badly damaged by aerial bombs. In 1954, Bath Rugby made its first tour abroad, beating three French clubs. In the 1980s, the once pure amateur sport became increasingly professional and Bath Rugby was best able to adapt to it. Between 1984 and 1987 the team won the English Cup four times in a row. Six more cup wins followed from 1989 to 1996. The first season of the Courage League (now called Aviva Premiership ) began in 1986. Bath Rugby won its first league title in the 1988/89 season, followed by five more by 1996.

In 1998 Bath Rugby was the first English club to win the European Heineken Cup ; in the final in Bordeaux was CA Brive conquered from France with 19:18. This was the last great success for the time being. In the 2002/03 season, Bath Rugby narrowly escaped relegation and merger with arch-rivals Bristol Rugby ; in addition there was the final defeat in the European Challenge Cup against the London Wasps . In 2004 Bath finished the regular season in first place in the table, but lost the play-off final against the London Wasps. There were further final defeats in 2006 in the English Cup against the Leeds Tykes and in 2007 in the European Challenge Cup against ASM Clermont Auvergne .

successes

Champion Premiership : 1989 , 1991 , 1992 , 1993 , 1994 , 1996
Play-off finalist Premiership: 2004 , 2015
John Player Cup / Pilkington Cup winners : 1984, 1985, 1986, 1987, 1989, 1990, 1992, 1994, 1995, 1996
Powergen Cup finalist : 2005, 2018
Heineken Cup winner : 1998
European Challenge Cup winner : 2008
Finalist European Challenge Cup: 2003, 2007, 2014