If Ross Molony had any doubts or even a hint of second thoughts about his move from Leinster, they were certainly dispelled when Bath won the Challenge Cup in the Principality Stadium last Friday night. It may have been a relative consolation prize after Bath were dumped out of the Champions Cup, but the moral of Molony’s story is that it’s better to have won one medal than none at all.
Molony used two words to describe the experience. “Class” and “unbelievable”. Speaking to The Irish Times after Bath’s win over Lyon, which was like a home match for the English club thanks to its proximity Cardiff, Molony described the extent to which he feels privileged to be a part of the Bath story.
“It’s a special group, first and foremost. I’ve come into something that they’ve been building for two years and 11 months now, and to be a part of it, and to see what it means to those lads, I guess to enjoy it as much as I did out there was class.
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“Then from a personal point of view, as we know, I’ve been involved in a lot of these weekends over the years that haven’t gone well and that was pretty sweet.”
Molony may only have played the last 10 minutes of Bath’s 37-12 win over Lyon but that was his 24th appearance of the season, eight of which have been in Europe, including four of his dozen starts.
“I’ve played a lot of rugby this season and whatever way they want to go about the impacts and how the bench come on I’m not complaining. When the final whistle went, I’ve had game time in the final. I’m delighted to be here and to be on the winning side of it.”
Bath are a club transformed since the arrival of Johann van Graan from Munster in 2022 and Finn Russell a year later. Marooned at the bottom of the Premiership in 2021-22, a season in which they suffered a record 64-0 defeat in their local derby against Gloucester, part of the reason they were later described as “broken as a club” by van Graan. They finished eighth the following season, and in the next one they rose to second before suffering a painful 25-21 loss to Northampton in the final at Twickenham. In March they ended a 17-year trophy drought by winning the Premiership Cup and have now added the Challenge Cup, the second leg of a targeted treble.
The tens of thousands who made the one hour or so trip across the Severn Bridge provided proof that the dominant force of English rugby in the 1990s is buzzing again.
“It was cool. I was walking around Cardiff today and there was a special buzz. My parents [Una and Kevin] were here as well so it was great to have them over. It did feel like a home game to be honest.”
The emergence of Russell to a customary phalanx of cameras and microphones had proved a welcome distraction in the mixed zone of the Principality Stadium before Molony started talking, with the Scot serenaded by three other Bath team-mates with chants of: ‘We love Finn, we do. We love you Finn, we do.”
Bath sit 15 points clear atop the Premiership and both Molony and Russell believe this Challenge Cup triumph can be an important “stepping stone” toward a first Premiership title since 1996, when they claimed a sixth in eight seasons.
“We will enjoy this but then there’s three massive games, against Sarries next week and then into a home semi-final. We can only be as good as our next game so it’s important we turn the page on Tuesday after a couple of beers this weekend,” said Molony.
Asked to compare Bath and Leinster, Molony said: “They are two extremely competitive sides in terms of training and quality of coaches and players.” At 31, the switch has evidently re-energised him too.
“It’s done wonders for my career. It’s motivated me moving into a new environment, new coaching staff, new playing group, new competitions, so it’s brilliant for me and I’ve loved every minute of it.”
Molony was a shrewd piece of business by van Graan. When starting, or as in the last 10 minutes against Lyon, Molony has been entrusted with calling the lineouts and he speaks highly of forwards coach Richard Blaze and fellow lock Charlie Ewels.
The former Leinster lock still has two more seasons on his contract and says he would be happy to see out his career in Bath.
“I love it in Bath. The city is great and it really feels like the start of something special.”
He says working with van Graan is “brilliant”, adding: “He’s brought in the right people around him, he’s an incredible man manager, I think he facilitates the group incredibly well. He gets the best out of people and delivers his message incredibly well. He’s someone you want to play for and you need that at the top of an organisation. It filters down through the quality of coaches and players that we have.”
Not only is it nice to win medals and be part of a buoyant, upwardly mobile club, but there are worse places in the world to live than Bath. Molony has been inundated with visits from his parents, friends and former team-mates.
“I’m in a two-bed house and it’s rare that the spare room is empty for home games. The Rec is a special place to play. It helps that we’re doing well, people want to come and watch us. I’ve landed on my feet with a great group.”
