Phil de Glanville is designated driver for the family’s mass migration to Twickenham, so if his son, Tom, emulates his league title success with Bath, he’ll have to wait a few hours before toasting the overdue triumph.
For the ex-England captain and his team-mate from the West Country club’s glory era, rampaging back-rower Steve Ojomoh, there will be extra-special parental pride if the Premiership final is won by the team who dominated the season. They will watch in hope of seeing their boys – full-back Tom and centre Max Ojomoh – finally end Bath’s 29-year wait to become champions of England again.
It will all feel very far removed from events in April 1996, when the dominant team of the Nineties claimed a sixth title in eight years the old-fashioned way, by finishing top of the table after months of hard graft.
Bath clinched it by the finest of margins, with a 38-38 draw against Sale seeing them pip Leicester to the prize by one point, before twisting the knife in the Tigers’ wounds by edging them 16-15 in the Pilkington Cup Final which followed, in front of a then-world-record crowd of 75,000.
‘That’s all such a long time ago,’ Phil de Glanville told Mail Sport. ‘I know it’s relevant for the fans because of the lack of titles in between, but it’s such a long time ago and the game was very different!
‘Of course there was no play-off system back then, so you won the league when no other team could catch you and that was it. It was actually very close that year. I didn’t play in the last game that season, I think I was injured. It’s the only game I missed. We drew with Sale and that was just enough to edge us to the league title.
Phil de Glanville breaks free in his playing days for Bath
Steve Ojomoh celebrates pipping Leicester to the Pilkington Cup at Twickenham in 1996
Phil and Tom de Glanville, with the junior now aiming to emulate his dad’s achievements
‘We still had the Pilkington Cup in those days and we beat Leicester in that one, then went up and got the trophy at Twickenham. Being at Twickenham for a cup final was very different to winning the league in one of 20-odd games we played; at the Rec. The environments are so different.’
De Glanville Snr happened to bump into son Tom and his Bath team-mates Alfie Barbeary and Guy Pepper on Wednesday, while taking some rubbish to the tip.
A conversation ensued about how the current play-off system creates such tension and jeopardy, and renders the balance of power during the regular season largely redundant. It all comes down to the grand showpiece.
‘All the clubs sign up to this format, you know from the start what it is and it does make for a great occasion at the end of the season,’ he said.
‘Really, these days, you want to be peaking for last week and this week rather than in, say, March. There’s also the added complexity of having a break during the Six Nations, so you can give the players precious R&R, but can’t lose their physical fitness.’
Bath’s pedigree squad has been well managed and rotated by head coach Johann van Graan and his staff, to ensure they won 14 of their 18 league games and finished 11 points clear of their nearest rivals and final opponents Leicester.
After spending years in a chaotic downward spiral, the arrival of the canny, nurturing South African Van Graan three years ago sparked a dramatic resurgence.
As a former club stalwart from the days of regular success at the Rec, De Glanville gave his verdict on how his son and the whole Bath squad have been transformed from a spell when they frequently endured some horrific ordeals, at home and away.
Steve and Max Ojomoh, who is a rampaging centre on the cusp of an England call-up
Bath clinch the 1996 Premiership title with a 38-all draw against Sale
Phil de Glanville, who was injured that day, and stand-in captain Andy Robinson receive the trophy
Bath’s class of 2025 booked their spot in the final with a euphoric semi-final victory against fierce local rivals Bristol at the Rec
‘There are three or four factors which have got Bath back to this point,’ he said. ‘Firstly, Johann van Graan, his consistency, his values and the way he treats and manages the players.
‘Four years ago, when they finished last, it was pretty much the same team. A large chunk of that team were young and had come through the academy; guys like Miles Reid, Tom, Will Butt, Max Ojomoh and Cam Redpath, who joined early. They have matured now as 23, 24 and 25-year-olds.
‘That pool of players have been helped by the club signing world-class players like Ted Hill and Ollie Lawrence, Thomas du Toit and Finn Russell. The recruitment has been spot-on, then confidence has built and built, and they’ve gone from strength to strength.’
While Tom de Glanville played down any talk of 1996 with his father, within the Ojomoh family, the subject has been addressed. Speaking on Tuesday, Max said: ‘I only really spoke to my dad about it yesterday, but he seemed pretty happy (about the prospect of another Bath title). He said, “Maybe they’ll finally stop wheeling us out!”
‘We obviously massively respect what they did in that team, in that era of rugby, but at the same time it’s a pretty different game now. We’re keen to write our own story, in terms of winning stuff and accolades.’
Van Graan struck a similar tone when asked about the unavoidable historical dimension for Bath, after nearly three decades without a league title. He is aware of that bigger picture, but played down any fear that it will weigh down his squad. ‘There is no expectation,’ he told Mail Sport. ‘We don’t feel any burden (from the past). It is a privilege to go to a final in front of 82,000 at Twickenham.
‘From a personal point of view, when I joined Bath, you look at the history and tradition, and read up on the club. You see there was a time when this club was incredibly successful, specifically through the Eighties and Nineties.
‘We respect everyone and everything that has gone before, but in our minds we started at zero on July 11, 2022. For us, it has been a journey over the last three years.’
Johann van Graan (left, pictured with Ross Molony) has inspired a huge turnaround in Bath’s fortunes in his three years in charge
Bath have supplemented their young local talent with world-class signings like Scotland fly-half Finn Russell
Tom de Glanville and Max Ojomoh are ready to write their own history
As he so often does, Van Graan spoke passionately about the importance of family within the whole setup at Bath. The two father-son links to the glorious past are merely parts of that motivating force. ‘With Max’s dad and Tom’s dad, it is incredible to listen to their stories, but ultimately they are dads who are supporting their sons, so it’s never been about them,’ Van Graan added.
‘It is always about their sons in the group. Whether you’re a dad who has played for the club or not, it’s all about the family. The dads of the players in this group can all be incredibly proud of their sons because they are good rugby players, but more because they are good human beings.’
Phil de Glanville certainly feels that pride, irrespective of the result at Twickenham. When asked if a title win would act as a passing of the winner’s baton from one West-Country generation to the next, he said: ‘Whatever happens at the weekend, the baton has been handed over already.
‘I know it’s about trophies, but the way they’ve played, the fact they finished so clearly top of the league and – subject to a final – have been the best team in England this season, which has been shown by their consistent league results. So, it’s already done and this would just be the icing on the cake. I know it’s going to be a cracking game and I just hope they come out on the right side of it.’
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