Bath confirm Johann van Graan as head coach for 2022/23 Premiership season
Johann van Graan on Tuesday announced he was leaving Munster at the end of the season; the South African will join Bath on a "long-term" contract; Bath sit bottom of the Premiership with nine defeats from nine games this campaign
Wednesday 15 December 2021 13:42, UK
Bath have confirmed Johann van Graan will replace Neal Hatley as head coach at the end of the season.
The Premiership club's announcement comes a day after Van Graan announced he was leaving Munster next summer after turning down a new deal.
The former South Africa assistant coach has agreed a "long-term" contract with Bath and will work alongside director of rugby Stuart Hooper.
Bath are without a win this season and sit bottom of the Premiership following nine successive defeats, while they were beaten 45-20 by Leinster last weekend in the opening round of the Champions Cup.
"I see huge potential in this club, the players, coaches and staff," said Van Graan.
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"I am coming to Bath to work with everyone, and to achieve great success with everyone at the club.
"This is an exciting next step for me as a coach, and for my family in moving to a proud club and a true rugby city."
Van Graan has spent the past four years at Munster, taking over in November 2017 when Rassie Erasmus left to take charge of South Africa.
The 41-year-old brought stability to Munster but the province remains without a major trophy in over 10 years. They lost to Leinster in last season's PRO14 final and have lost five league and European semi-finals during Van Graan's tenure.
Bath chief executive Tarquin McDonald said Van Graan will hold "full responsibility for our game, focused on delivering winning performances".
Hooper added: "Johann is a phenomenal coach with a proven track record of developing teams to be successful on the pitch. He has experienced winning rugby environments at the very highest level of the game and knows exactly what it takes.
"We have an outstanding and committed group of players and staff here at the club; Johann's experience will add significantly to this."
Meanwhile, Bath have postponed training after returning a "very small number of positive results" and will only resume after the next round of testing.
They are due to host La Rochelle at the Recreation Ground on Saturday.
