Bath Rugby will welcome Brive to The Rec on Sunday in the Amlin Cup quarter-finals in what is an historic fixture for the club.
Bath became the first British club to win the Heineken Cup 16 years ago when they beaten the same French opposition 19-18 in the final.
The victorious side was studded with men now considered rugby royalty in the West Country and beyond.
The heroics of the Class of ’98 – whose special achievement that day in Bordeaux gave rise to The Rec faithful’s ‘Allez Bath’ chant – could serve to inspire Mike Ford’s new generation of Bath players on Sunday.
Here is a look at where some of Bath’s European Champions are in 2014:
Mike Catt: With 220 appearances and 64 tries for Bath between 1992 and 2004, Mike Catt OBE remains something of a fans’ favourite at The Rec.
The oldest player ever to play in a Rugby World Cup final, South African-born Catt made 75 appearances for England, including the 2003 and 2007 World Cups, and earned one British and Irish Lions cap.
He left Bath in 2004 to join London Irish and in became the Exiles’ attack coach in 2007. Irish’s new brand of attacking rugby under Catt’s supervision helped guide them to a Premiership final in 2009.
England soon came calling for Catt again, first as backs coach for the 2012 South Africa tour before being made full-time attacking skills coach.
Phil de Glanville: During a 12-year career at Bath, former captain Phil de Glanville made nearly 200 appearances and scored 53 tries for the men in Blue, Black and White. The centre was capped 38 times by England and was made captain of his country in 1996.
De Glanville is now putting all his top-level experience in the game to good use at Hartpury College in Gloucester, where he has been director of elite sport since 2012. He oversees all eight of the college’s sports academies, from rugby to equestrian.
Dave Hilton: Dace Hilton is currently the forwards coach at Championship club Moseley where he works alongside another former Bath player, head coach Kevin Maggs.
Having retired from hometown club Bristol in 2008, Hilton cut his coaching teeth at nearby Dings Crusaders in National Division 2 South until taking up his post at Moseley.
As a player, he battled through controversy over the validity of his Scottish qualification to play 42 times for Scotland, his final appearance after an enforced two-year hiatus coming in a famous victory against South Africa in 2002.
Dan Lyle: Dan Lyle came to rugby at the mature age of 23 in his final years as a history student at the Virginia Military Institute. The number eight was instrumental to USA Rugby in its seminal years and in 1994 his potential was brought to the attention of Bath during an international match against Canada in Toronto.
He joined the club in 1996 and endeared himself to the supporters during his seven years at The Rec. A tremendous athlete, Lyle was once described by Heineken Cup-winning team-mate Jeremy Guscott as having “the full arsenal†of skills.
After hanging up his boots in 2003, 45-cap Lyle moved into the higher echelons of USA Rugby. He is now spearheading the development of USA Sevens in his role with United World Sports, including overseeing the popular Las Vegas leg of the HSBC Sevens World Series.
Matt Perry: Matt Perry made the transition from professional rugby to the business world seven years ago after a glittering career for Bath, England and the British and Irish Lions.
England’s most-capped fullback, the free-running Perry started all three Lions Tests against the Wallabies in 2001 – one of the most captivating series in the touring outfit’s professional history.
He was the third generation of his family to don the Bath jersey – after father Brendan and grandfather Idris – and in an astonishing 221 appearances for the club he scored 561 points. He retired prematurely at the age of 30 with a bulging disc in his back.
Perry is now a group performance director with Monitise, a financial services company which specialises in banking, paying and buying with mobile devices. He can also be found providing commentary and broadcasting for Sky Sports and BT Sport.
Bath Rugby is paying homage to the club’s famous 1998 European victory by offering supporters tickets to Sunday’s match for just £19.98*.
Along with this one-time offer, key members of that Heineken Cup-winning team will be doing a pre-match QA in the Swift Half to relive the historic win.
To see Bath’s new generation take a step closer to European glory, visit www.bathrugby.com/tickets, call 0844 448 1865 or visit the Ticket Office on Pulteney Bridge.
*Offer available in Blue and Bronze seating only.
Article source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/rugby-union/22749174
Bath Rugby"s Heineken Cup Class of "98: Where are they now?
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