Last seen on these shores in 2022, former Munster head coach Johann van Graan is back as Bath bid to halt Leinster's Champions Cup momentum.
Van Graan's last contribution as Munster boss was a hapless URC quarter-final loss in Belfast; the South African had spent five seasons here and brought the province to two European semi-finals and one URC final.
It was evident that night at the Kingspan that the players didn't want to be there, taking their lead from the head coach, who had announced his departure seven months previous, after triggering a release clause in his contract.
It left a sour taste in the mouth of many as he upped sticks and headed for what he felt were greener pastures.
Van Graan had taken over at the two-time European champions on the recommendation of Rassie Erasmus, who himself departed the province unexpectedly back in 2017 to take on the Springbok project – he hasn’t looked back since.
The Ireland to England move wasn’t new and it mirrored Pat Lam’s switch from Connacht to Bristol in 2017, another transfer that came as a shock when announced.
It was felt that, at Munster, Van Graan didn’t get the best out of a talented bunch, preferring a more conservative game plan, even after adding Australian Stephen Larkham to his coaching staff in 2019.
He could always make the case that he was playing to his team’s strengths.
With Conor Murray, he had the best box-kicking scrum-half around, in Keith Earls and Andrew Conway, two of the best kick-chasers in the game.
Up front he had the defensive lineout and breakdown prowess of Peter O’Mahony and Tadhg Beirne.
It worked well up to the point where a Saracens, Racing 92 or Toulouse team stood in their way, and when they met in Champions Cup knock-outs, it looked like a plan that was never going to work.
Similarly, it was an approach that never particularly worried the previous version of Leinster; Van Graan’s record against Leo Cullen’s men was won 2, lost 9. Failure to nurture home-grown talent was another criticism levelled at the former Bulls coach.
"I’d say the Munster team and the Bath team are two different teams with totally different backgrounds. I won’t comment on how we played at Munster," Van Graan said earlier this week.
He rocked up to Bath after the Somerset side had endured a disastrous season 2021/22, "broken as a club", was how he put it.
But the 44-year-old led a revival and an eighth-place finish in the Premiership was seen as a good return in his first year in charge.
The recruitment of Scotland out-half Finn Russell and Springboks prop Thomas du Toit in 2023 showed Bath were a club with ambition and a healthy budget. Van Graan, who recently signed a contract extension up to 2030, had a vision and the backing to achieve.
"We were very respectful of players who were here but we knew we needed a change," he said.
"You get players that adapt to where I think the game is going. The game, if you look at the law changes, is going to a more attacking game. Hence, I made some coaching changes and personnel changes."
They reached the final of the Premiership in his second season, losing narrowly to Northampton Saints at Twickenham, and currently sit top of the standings after 10 rounds.
Their haul of eight wins includes impressive victories away to Leicester, Gloucester, Harlequins and Newcastle, while they hammered Saracens 68-10 at the Rec just after Christmas.
After a slow start in Europe, a home loss to La Rochelle and a defeat in Treviso, they picked up a first win last weekend against Clermont, who had caused Leinster no end of problems when they visited Dublin in round two.
Russell has forged a brilliant connection with Ollie Lawrence in the centre, while the pack came up trumps for the bonus point in the 40-21 win over the Top 14 side.
This afternoon’s game also sees the return of Ross Molony, who moved to England over summer after making 179 appearances in nine years at Leinster.
The 30-year-old Dubliner has started five times for Bath this season and packs down beside fellow former Leinster and Ireland lock Quinn Roux.
Cullen’s side have won all 12 games across this season but their failure to pick up bonus points in wins over Clermont (15-7) and La Rochelle (16-14), means there is no margin for error today as they track a top-two seeding, which would mean a home run as far as they progress before the final.
While they can take a lot of heart from beating Ronan O’Gara’s side in round three, they’ll need to create and finish more opportunities in the Bath 22 today.
The visitors are third in the table and Van Graan has selected a strong outfit, with Russell and Ben Spencer the half-backs. Joe Cokanasiga is set to make his 100th appearance.
Europe may not be a priority but Bath have enough about them to cause Leinster problems today.
Listen to the RTÉ Rugby podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts.
Watch Leinster v Bath (kick-off 5.30pm, Saturday) on RTÉ2 and RTÉ Player or follow our live blog on RTÉ.ie/sport and the RTÉ News app or listen to live commentary on RTÉ Radio 1's Saturday Sport.
Follow Northampton v Munster (Saturday 3.15pm) on our live blog on RTÉ.ie/sport and the RTÉ News app.
