Johann van Graan confirms injured league star Regan Grace is …
Johann van Grann has confirmed the Welsh rugby league superstar Regan Grace has been a visitor to Farleigh House in recent weeks as he continues to fight his way back from serious injury
Port Talbort-born Grace is still just 26 years old but finds himself without a club for either code having suffered a horror couple of years with injuries after taking the decision to switch codes having established himself as a star with Super League side St Helens where he scored 89 tries in 143 games. In 2023 Grace joined French glamour side Racing 92 in a high-profile switch but he suffered a serious Achilles tendon injury before arriving in France.
Grace suffered an injury setback in February and was released this summer by Racing, where he was a teammate of now Bath fly-half Russell, without having played a game for the club. The French side has since signed reported Bath target Henry Arundell who the Premiership club are looking to tempt back across the Channel next season.
Discussing the situation with Grace, Bath head of Rugby van Graan told SomersetLive: “Regan came to my attention as an ex-league player. We have assisted him by giving him some advice in terms of his medical situation but there is no formal agreement. He is player who I have seen has a lot of speed and a good rugby background. We have been giving him some advice and helping him with his rehab.
“He has not been with the team, it is not even a team thing. If that develops into something further down the line we will see where it goes. At this stage it is a player who has had a very unfortunate circumstance with the injuries that he has had and he came to my attention [through his ex-teammate Russell] and we had a coffee together, and what a nice man he is. If I can help a player with his future then I always do that. If something comes out of it then brilliant, but for now we are helping him with his rehab.
“He has had some serious setbacks in terms of his leg, so I wouldn’t want to speculate [about when he will play again], I would say he is still months away so from our side if we can help him, and maybe he does a few training sessions with us when that becomes a possibility and we will make our decisions along the line but at this stage, I have nothing more to report.”
Grace has reportedly moved to the Bath area following his time in France and has been working with injury specialists Elevate: Speed & Rehab which is based in the city. This week he took to social media to mark 10 weeks of working with Elevate: Speed & Rehab, finishing his post with the hashtag, #comebckszn.
Bath are reported to have several wingers out of contract at the end of the season, with deals for Will Muir, Tom de Glanville, Joe Cokanasiga and Ruaridh McConnochie all set to come to an end in the summer meaning negotiations and decisions over the make-up of the 2024/25 squad will be taking place.
Watch this space.