Where Are They Now? - Bath XV from the 1998 European Cup Final triumph

. Later, he moved into elite sport leadership outside rugby, taking a role with British Swimming as Elite Coach Development Manager, applying his performance expertise across Olympic-level coaching systems.

Should Bath triumph upon their trip to Bordeaux, then they will head to Bilbao to face off against either Leinster or Toulon, dependent on how the action unfolds in Dublin's semi-final. It has been 27 years since European club rugby's pinnacle trophy made it's way to the West Country, as Bath's last time at the peak came at the end of the 1997/98 Heineken Cup campaign.

Bath would achieve a secondary European Cup title this past season, as they lifted their first ever EPCR Challenge Cup at the Principality Stadium. However, whilst the latest win over Lyon was a milestone moment for the blue, black and whites, the accomplishment paled in comparison to the class of 1998.

Nearly three decades ago, Bath clinched a narrow 19-18 win over Brive to get their hands on the most coveted prize in European club rugby. But what have the players that starred in the final been doing since that fateful day at the Stade de Parc Lescure, which is coincidentally located in Boardeaux. Here's a look at 'where are they now', from the historic Bath team that won the 1998 European Cup.

Few players left a mark on a European final quite like Jonathan Callard. Bath’s unflappable full-back saved his finest moment for the biggest stage, scoring all 19 points in their 1998 Heineken Cup triumph over Brive, in a flawless display from the tee that secured his place in club folklore.

Callard had already built an outstanding domestic career after joining Bath Rugby in 1989, helping the club dominate English rugby with five league titles and five domestic cups. Internationally, his England career was brief but memorable, most notably a nerveless, controversial match-winning penalty at Murrayfield to defeat Scotland in 1994.

Retiring soon after that European success, Callard transitioned seamlessly into coaching. He returned to Bath as head coach, later led Leeds Tykes to Powergen Cup glory, and worked within the RFU setup, including England’s 2007 World Cup campaign. Today, he continues to shape the game as head coach of Welsh side RGC 1404.

Nicknamed “Merlin” for his ability to conjure magic in big moments, Ieuan Evans was one of the most devastating finishers of his era. By the time he arrived at Bath Rugby in 1997, Evans had already cemented legendary status with Llanelli RFC, scoring 194 tries in 232 games.

His impact at Bath was immediate, adding experience and clinical edge to a side that would conquer Europe in 1998. Internationally, Evans’ résumé is glittering: 72 caps for Wales national rugby union team, 33 tries, and a starring role in the British & Irish Lions, including the iconic series-winning try in Australia in 1989. After retiring in 1998, Evans swapped the wing for the boardroom and studio.

He founded a successful PR company, became a prominent broadcaster with the BBC, ITV and Sky Sports, and later served as chairman of the Welsh Rugby Union, continuing to shape the game long after his playing days ended.

Philip de Glanville was one of Bath’s defining centre partnerships of the 1990s, and a player whose career often sat in the shadow of England’s most established names before briefly stepping into the spotlight himself. After spells at Durham University and Oxford, where he earned a 'Blue' accolade, he joined Bath in 1989 and went on to make over 200 appearances for the club, scoring 53 tries and anchoring a backline that dominated English rugby. His finest club moment came in 1998, starting in Bath’s Heineken Cup final victory over Brive, completing a historic European triumph.

At international level, de Glanville won 38 England caps between 1992 and 1999, often competing with the iconic Will Carling–Jeremy Guscott axis for selection. In 1996 he succeeded Carling as England captain, leading the side through a transitional period before eventually losing both the captaincy and his starting place to Lawrence Dallaglio and Will Greenwood.

Since retiring, he has built a career in elite sport and business leadership, serving as Director of Elite Sport at Hartpury College before moving into executive search with Hanover Fox UK, where he is now a co-owner. His son Tom is currently a stand-out player in the Bath back-line, with two generations of de Glanville's hoping to become European champions.

Jeremy Guscott was the archetypal Bath back of the amateur era turned early professional icon — elegant, decisive, and capable of producing match-winning moments that defined a generation. Born in Bath in 1965, he rose from local school rugby at Ralph Allen to become one of England’s most gifted centres, while balancing early careers as a bricklayer, bus driver and public relations worker before rugby became fully professional.

At club level, Guscott was a cornerstone of the dominant Bath side of the 1980s and 1990s, making 266 appearances and scoring 710 points. He started in their historic 1998 Heineken Cup final win over Brive, capping a glittering domestic and European career that included multiple league and cup triumphs.

Internationally, he earned 65 England caps between 1989 and 1999, featuring in three Rugby World Cups and famously scoring a length-of-the-field try against Tonga in his final Test at Twickenham. For the British and Irish Lions, he delivered defining moments, most notably the winning drop goal in the decisive 1997 Test against South Africa. Since retirement, Guscott has become a prominent BBC rugby pundit, known for his sharp analysis and calm authority, remaining one of the sport’s most recognisable voices.

Adedayo Adebayo brought pace, power and a distinctive edge to Bath’s back three during a golden era for the club, while also carving out a respected international and sevens career with England. Born in Ibadan, Nigeria in 1970, he moved to England as a youngster and rose through the rugby ranks with a blend of raw athleticism and natural finishing ability that made him a constant threat on the wing.

At Bath, Adebayo made over 250 appearances during a long spell from the late 1980s into the early professional era, contributing to multiple domestic title-winning campaigns. Internationally, he earned nine England caps between 1996 and 1998, scoring on debut against Italy in a commanding 54–21 win. He was also part of England’s sevens squad that won the inaugural Rugby World Cup Sevens in 1993, showcasing his adaptability across formats.

After retiring, Adebayo transitioned into business, founding Premier Lifestyle, a corporate hospitality company, while also taking on coaching roles in sevens rugby, including with Scotland-based outfits, maintaining his connection to the game from a different angle.

Mike Catt’s career is one of rugby’s great reinvention stories — a utility back who refused to be defined by a single position, and a coach whose influence has quietly shaped elite attacking systems across three major nations. Born in Port Elizabeth, South Africa, Catt moved to England after school and joined Bath in 1992, initially as Stuart Barnes’ understudy before becoming a cornerstone of one of the club’s dominant eras.

After more than a decade at the Rec, he moved to London Irish, where his career enjoyed a second wind as player-coach and he was named Premiership Player of the Season in 2006. Internationally, Catt earned 75 England caps and became a tactical Swiss army knife — covering full-back, fly-half and centre. His defining moment came in the 2003 Rugby World Cup, where his composure, distribution and kicking helped England navigate knockout pressure en route to lifting the trophy.

He also featured in the 2007 final, becoming the oldest player ever to appear in a Rugby World Cup final. Since retiring, Catt has become a respected attack coach, working with England, Italy, Ireland — where he helped guide a Six Nations Grand Slam era — and most recently the NSW Waratahs, exporting his tactical influence down to the land down under.

Andy Nicol’s career is a study in leadership, timing, and being in the right place when history is made. Born in Dundee, Nicol came through the North and Midlands setup before establishing himself as a sharp, tactically intelligent scrum-half.

His international career with Scotland spanned a decade, earning 23 caps in an era dominated by fierce competition for the No.9 jersey from the likes of Gary Armstrong and Bryan Redpath. Though he never featured at a Rugby World Cup, he did captain Scotland in one of their most celebrated results of the early 2000s — a 19–13 win over England in 2000 that denied their rivals a Grand Slam at Murrayfield.

At club level, Nicol’s defining chapter came with Bath. After joining in 1997, he was captain of the side that won the 1998 Heineken Cup, famously becoming the first British player to lift the trophy after the final victory over Brive. He later moved to Glasgow Warriors as the game turned professional in Scotland, becoming one of the early figures of the professional era there before retiring in 2003.

Since hanging up his boots, Nicol has remained close to the game through coaching in sevens, most notably with the Bone Steelers, and has built a second career as a respected broadcaster and pundit with BBC Sport, offering analysis shaped by experience and front-line scrum-half decision-making.

Dave Hilton’s career is one of rugby’s more complex journeys, as a powerful loosehead prop whose club success was clear, but whose international story became entangled in one of the sport’s most infamous eligibility disputes. Born in Bristol, Hilton rose through the English club system but ultimately aligned himself with Scotland through a disputed grandparent qualification.

He made his Scotland debut in 1995 and went on to win 42 caps over seven years, anchoring the front row in an era when Test scrummaging was still brutally unforgiving. His international career included appearances against top-tier opposition such as South Africa, but it was later overshadowed by the eligibility dispute in 2000, which called into question several players’ ancestry claims. Hilton was required to complete a residency period to re-establish eligibility before returning to the national side.

At club level, he was part of the Bath squad that lifted the 1998 Heineken Cup, contributing to one of English rugby’s most dominant domestic eras. He later moved north to Glasgow during the early professional era in Scotland, becoming a regular feature across the Welsh-Scottish League and Celtic League before finishing his playing career at Bristol in 2008.

After retirement, Hilton transitioned into coaching, working across the English club game with Birmingham Moseley and grassroots sides such as Dings Crusaders and Clifton RFC, where he built a reputation for developing forwards and set-piece discipline. He has since continued coaching in the women’s game with Bristol Bears Women, extending his influence into the modern professional era long after his own playing days ended.

Mark Regan’s story is that of a hooker who refused to stay down — a player whose career swung between England recognition, club glory, and periods on the international fringes, before ending as one of the more recognisable characters of his generation. Born in Bristol, Regan came through the English club game and burst into England contention in the mid-1990s, making his debut against South Africa in 1995. It was a landmark moment — the first England debut in the professional era — and he quickly established himself as a combative, energetic presence at hooker during the early transition years of Test rugby professionalism. Selection for the 1997 British & Irish Lions tour to South Africa followed, where he featured in the third Test.

At club level, Regan later moved to Leeds Tykes, where his influence helped stabilise the club at Premiership level, before returning to his hometown side Bristol, where he also helped preserve their top-flight status. He earned 46 England caps across more than a decade, featuring in the 2003 Rugby World Cup-winning squad and briefly returning to international contention again in 2007–08. His career ended after the 2008 Six Nations, closing a long international chapter.

Since retirement, Regan has remained embedded in rugby, moving into coaching with Clifton RFC, where he has worked on forwards development while also contributing to the club’s competitive success in English lower-league rugby. Alongside coaching, he has also built interests in property investment, marking a post-playing career split between sport and business, but with rugby still firmly at the centre.

Born in Lagos and raised in the UK from the age of 13, Ubogu progressed through Birmingham University and Oxford University, where his physical power and technical scrummaging earned him a Blue. He combined academic grounding with a growing reputation as a front-row enforcer, eventually breaking into professional club rugby with Moseley before moving to Bath at the height of their dominance.

Internationally, he earned 24 caps for England between 1992 and 1999, featuring in two Rugby World Cups. While never a long-term starter in a fiercely competitive front-row pool, he remained a reliable squad option across much of the decade.

After retiring, Ubogu transitioned into business, founding the “Shoeless Joe’s” sports bar chain, building a post-rugby identity rooted in hospitality and entertainment. He has also made occasional media appearances, maintaining a public profile tied to the professional game’s early commercial expansion era.

Born in Chelmsford but raised in Cornwall, Haag progressed through St Ives and Penwith, representing England Schools before joining Bath in 1987. It was there he built his reputation: a relentless engine in the second row, combining physicality with surprising mobility for a 6’6” forward. By the early 1990s he was a first-team regular and a consistent performer in Bath’s domestic dominance, winning multiple league titles and establishing himself as one of the club’s most reliable forwards.

His international career with England was brief but notable. After appearances for England B and England A, he won two full caps in 1997 on the tour of Argentina. Despite limited Test exposure, he remained on the fringes of national selection during a highly competitive era for English second-row options. He went on to make over 300 appearances for Bath across a long and durable career before moving into coaching.

Post-retirement, Haag built a strong reputation as a development specialist. He worked within Bath’s academy system before taking senior coaching roles at Bristol, the RFU, and Nottingham, where he guided them to a Championship final. His standout achievement came in 2016 when he led England Under-20s to World Rugby Under 20 Championship glory, reinforcing his standing as one of England’s most effective age-grade coaches and a key figure in player development pathways.

Born in Cardiff and raised in Somerset, Redman left school early to become an apprentice electrician, while simultaneously beginning his rugby journey with Weston-super-Mare. That grounding in the semi-professional game shaped a tough, durable forward who quickly rose through the ranks after joining Bath in 1984. Over the next 15 years he became a mainstay of one of English rugby’s great club dynasties, making 350 appearances and forming part of a dominant pack that defined the era.

Redman’s England debut came remarkably early, in 1984 against Australia, and he went on to earn 20 caps across an international span that included the 1987 and 1991 Rugby World Cups. While never a permanent fixture in the England forward group, his ability to cover across the back five of the scrum made him a valuable squad member through multiple cycles. He also toured with the 1997 British & Irish Lions, featuring in midweek matches during their South Africa campaign.

After retiring in 1999, Redman transitioned into coaching and high-performance roles. He worked with Basingstoke, England age-grade sides, and Worcester Warriors, while also building a strong media profile as a pundit for Sky Sports and BT Sport’s Rugby Tonight

Nathan Thomas’ career sits in that transitional space between raw regional talent and the early professional era of Welsh rugby — a powerful back-rower who became a dependable presence across multiple clubs and a steady international option for Wales in the late 1990s. Born in Bridgend, Thomas came through local rugby with Bridgend RFC before earning a move to Bath in 1996.

Internationally, Thomas won nine Wales caps between 1996 and 1998, operating mainly at number eight or blindside flanker. He made his debut during a period of transition for Welsh rugby and earned his final cap against South Africa. After Bath, he featured for Cardiff Blues and the Scarlets during the regional transition, as well as spells with Leeds Tykes, Neath, and later Llandovery. Even into the late 2000s, he remained a valuable squad forward at domestic level.

Post-retirement, Thomas moved into education, taking up a lecturing role at Hartpury College, where he has also been involved in coaching within the rugby programme. His later career reflects a common pathway for professionals of his era — blending rugby expertise with academic and player development roles, helping to shape the next generation of players in the semi-professional and professional tiers.

Richard Webster’s career is one of the more unusual in this Bath 1998 cohort — a genuine dual-code international who moved between union and league at a time when switching codes still carried significant risk, before returning to help deliver European success at the top of the club game.

Born in Swansea, Webster made his name at Swansea RFC, where he racked up 100 appearances and built a reputation as a mobile, hard-working flanker with an eye for the try line. His performances earned Wales selection in union, and he won 13 caps between 1987 and 1993, while also touring New Zealand with the British & Irish Lions in 1993.

In a bold mid-career move, Webster switched to rugby league in 1993, signing for Salford. He adapted quickly to the 13-man code, representing Wales in both the 1995 Rugby League World Cup and European Championship, scoring against France and establishing himself as a reliable back-row option in the professional league game. He returned to union in 1996 with Bath, where he re-integrated into elite club rugby and played a squad role in one of the club’s most successful eras.

After retiring, Webster moved into coaching and player development. In 2011 he was appointed head coach of Wales Under-20s, bringing his dual-code experience into the international pathway system. Away from coaching, he also became known for extreme endurance challenges, completing Ironman events despite significant injury setbacks, reinforcing a career identity built on resilience, adaptability, and persistence across two codes of rugby.

Dan Lyle’s career brings a distinctly international dimension to this Bath 1998 squad — an American number eight who became one of the most influential figures in early professional-era US rugby, while also embedding himself deeply in English club success.

Born in Louisville, Kentucky, Lyle came to rugby relatively late after a background in American football at the Virginia Military Institute. He picked up rugby at 23, quickly translating his athleticism into a powerful, ball-carrying back row profile. His rise was rapid: by 1994 he had debuted for the United States against Ireland in Dublin, and he would go on to earn 45 caps and captain his country 24 times, including at the 1999 Rugby World Cup.

At club level, Lyle joined Bath in 1996, and he captained the club during the early 2000s. After leaving Bath, he had a short spell with Leicester Tigers before retiring from playing in 2004. Post-retirement, Lyle transitioned into major commercial and administrative roles within rugby. He became a central figure in the growth of American rugby sevens, serving as Executive Vice President of USA Sevens and helping develop the Las Vegas tournament into one of the sport’s key commercial properties. He later worked with AEG Rugby, focusing on expanding the professional game in the United States, and was inducted into the US Rugby Hall of Fame in 2016.