The Saffa trio who helped Bath to victory

SPOTLIGHT: Bath won their first European title in more than 15 years with a commanding display in the Challenge Cup Final in Cardiff over the weekend, and the South African influence is undeniable.

Head coach Johann van Graan has been assisted by two fellow countrymen who played a major role in the resurgence of Bath as a rugby giant.

Bath are currently top of the Premiership table and have scored the most points of any club in the league.

Defence coach JP Ferreira and Pieter Kruger, Performance Consultant, have been plying their trade quietly behind the scenes at Bath for the last two to three years.

In January this year, Bath announced that Ferreira had signed a new “long-term” deal to stay with the Premiership club.

He moved to the club from Munster alongside Van Graan in 2022.

The 41-year-old Ferreira, older brother to well-known referee Morne, carried out analysis for Currie Cup First Division side the Falcons in 2005, and two years later, when he retired from playing, stepped into an analyst position with the Lions.

Over time, his role developed into a coaching one, and when Johan Ackermann took over as the Lions’ Head Coach in 2012, Ferreira was named the franchise’s Defence Coach.

Under his stewardship, they reached consecutive Super Rugby finals in 2016 and 2017. The Lions had the best defensive records in both seasons.

Similarly with Munster, Ferreira developed the Irish province into the best defensive side in the 2018/19 Pro14 and the Champions Cup pool stage the same season.

Ferreira’s coaching skills aided Bath to the 2023/24 Premiership Final after just two seasons at the club.

Kruger is an internationally respected sports psychologist based at North West University in Potchefstroom and also runs a company out of London.

He is a respected Consultant Psychologist and Professor of Clinical Psychology, who specialises in Elite Sport Psychology with various national and trans-national teams since 2003.

This includes his current roles as a Performance & Mental Health consultant for the McLaren F1 racing team, team psychologist for the South African Olympic team, and his role with Bath.

He has attended three Olympic Games, where he has supported elite athletes to perform under pressure and look after their mental health.

He was also the Performance Psychologist for the Springboks during the 2015 World Cup, the Springboks Sevens side (World Series Champions 2017, 2018), and the Sharks (2018 Currie Cup winners).

He joined Bath at the start of the 2023/24 season after they finished bottom of the log the previous season.

“We really tried heavily to implement a system where we change the culture, but also individual reactions under pressure and a collective mental model on the field, where we really try to get players under pressure to apply this,” Kruger told Times LIVE in an earlier interview.

“There were no expectations, but the team ended up playing the premiership final, losing by four points.

“The turnaround came because the players learnt to perform better under pressure, making a huge impact in those critical moment reactions when you need to perform and when it counts.