Johann van Graan hailed his Bath players after Ollie Lawrence’s 83rd-minute try earned a team that has spent most of the last two seasons on the bottom of the Premiership a place in the Champions Cup.
“It is incredible,” said head coach van Graan. “It is special for the players, coaches and supporters. We said when I arrived on July 11 that we were in this together all the way to the end of the season.”
Bath’s fate depended on how Bristol fared at Ashton Gate. They needed to equal the Bears in terms of match points but have a winning margin of nine points more.
“We kept an eye on what was go...