巴斯

Formation and the early years (1865–1954)

Bath Football Club is one of the oldest clubs in existence, having been founded in 1865 by members of Lansdown Cricket Club in Bath, for 'something to do in the winter'. This is the reason why the club colours of the two clubs are identical. With an original home base at The North Parade Ground, in Bathwick, The team then led a nomadic existence during the 1800s playing at Claverton Down, Lambridge Meadows, Taylor's Field and Henrietta Park. They then leased a plot of land at Pulteney Meadow, where today's Rec stands, with most games played against local opposition: Weston-super-Mare, Gloucester, Clifton and the "Arabs" from Bristol.

By the 1890s, Welsh clubs were starting to become regular opponents, with Cardiff and Penarth regularly appearing in the fixture list. With a traditionally lightweight pack, they would suffer regular defeats. The club played its first fixture against overseas opposition in 1907, as Racing Club de Bordelais crossed the Channel to play at the Rec. 1954 saw a first overseas tour by Bath, who beat the French teams St Claude (23–3).

Competitive competitions and the glory years (1954–1995)

The trip was repeated the following year with wins against St Claude (13–8), Dijon (14–0) and Macon (8–3) as captain Peter Sibley was the first to develop the ethos for fast, attacking rugby in the Sixties. With six-foot four-inch players such as England international back row David Gay, Peter Heindorff, Sibley had players with physique to impose this style of play. The side continued to develop Bath's reputation in the early Seventies with wins over the top Welsh sides. However, the revolution began with the arrival of coach Jack Rowell in 1978.

Rowell transformed the ethos of a club that had traditionally drawn local players. When formalised competitions started in the 1980s Jack Rowell brought premature professionalism to Bath and began to assemble a side with power and precision. The power, provided by Gareth Chilcott, and the precision of Roger Spurrell, was complemented by the quality of John Horton and winger David Trick. By 1984, the first of ten knock-out cup successes had been achieved, at the expense of Bristol. Bath dominated the Anglo-Welsh Cup final winning it four years on a trot, from 1984 to 1987. Bath, after a blip in 1988, dominated, winning it a further six times.

The formalised rugby structure was formed in 1987, and Bath dominated the early years of the first division, being crowned league champions six times in just eight years and doing the "double" four times. Bath were an unstoppable force in 1988–89 and ran away with the league title, winning the first ten of their eleven league matches. A week later, in the Anglo-Welsh Cup final at Twickenham, Bath beat Leicester 10–6 to become the first English club to do the double of winning both League and Cup. 1990 saw the last of six consecutive Twickenham final wins, with the club defeating Gloucester 48–6. 1993–94 saw the team win the Anglo Welsh Cup, beating Leicester. In May 1996, Bath Rugby and Wigan made history by playing against each other at both codes. The first match was at Maine Road, Manchester under League rules and saw Bath struggle, eventually losing 82–6. In the return fixture under Union rules at Twickenham, Bath were able to regain a measure of pride by beating Wigan 44–19.

The Professional era (1995–present)

Jack Rowell's departure in 1995 and rugby union becoming a professional sport in 1996 had seen Bath struggle to find consistency either on or off the field. With regular changes in the coaching staff and a steady turnaround of players, the formula that led to past successes was still being sought. Albiet, Bath still managed to be the first British club to lift the European Cup, in the 1997–1998 season. Bath beat French club Brive 19–18 in an exciting final in Bordeaux with Jon Callard scoring all the points for Bath. Off the field, the official supporters' club of Bath Rugby was formed in January 1997.

Despite European glory, Bath slumped to sixth in the league the next season. In the disastrous league campaign of 2002–03, relegation was avoided by only a single point on the last day. Having narrowly avoided relegation and merger with rivals Bristol in the 2002–03 season, the club invested heavily in its squad, the team ended the regular season at the top of the table six points, but lost in the play-off final match at Twickenham. Bath finished 4th in the 2004–05 season and also reached the RFU Cup final, though lost to Leeds at Twickenham after a poor display. By the end of the 2004–05 season, coach John Connolly had announced his intention to return to his native Australia, having created one of the most dominant packs in club rugby.

In 2006 they defeated Leicester Tigers in the quarter finals at a sold out Walkers' Stadium in Leicester, Bath then went on to lose the semi-finals against Biarritz. As they finished 9th in the league that year, Bath were ineligible for the 2006–07 competition, instead contesting in the European Challenge Cup, the second level of European rugby. Steve Meehan was appointed the new acting head coach in the summer of 2006.

In 2008 Bath won their first trophy in ten years, beating Worcester in the European Challenge Cup. On 14 April 2010, Bath Rugby announced a change of ownership and set out new plans for the future of the club, including a proposal to create a new club headquarters at Farleigh House and a commitment to build a new 20,000 all seater stadium.

Mike Ford became the club's head coach in May 2013. Ford guided Bath to the 2014–15 Premiership Final, where they lost to Saracens. Ford was awarded the Aviva Premiership Director of Rugby of the Year award in 2015 while his son, George Ford, won Player of the Year. However, after a disappointing campaign that saw Bath finish 9th in the table, Mike Ford left the club at the end of the 2015–2016 season.

The 2021–22 season was Bath's worst ever campaign. They finished bottom of the Premiership for the first time in their history, and suffered their greatest ever defeat, against rivals, Gloucester, losing 64–0 at Kingsholm. Ahead of the 2022–23 season, South African coach Johann van Graan joined Bath. Van Graan turned Bath around in his first season. The team's improvement in form over the course of the campaign culminated with a 61–29 win over Saracens on the final day, which saw them edge neighbours and rivals Bristol Bears for eighth in the table and a place in the 2023–24 Champions Cup.