It’s perhaps a measure of how far Northampton Saints have come in recent years that a last‑minute victory over the defending champions is met with frustration, rather than elation, from the captain on the day.
A sold‑out cinch Stadium at Franklin’s Gardens crowd – and thousands more watching on TNT Sports – were treated to another thrill‑a‑minute contest between the last two champions of England.
Just as it did earlier this month when Saints and Bath collided in the Investec Champions Cup, the final few minutes saw the game hang in the balance. This time, it was the men in Black, Green and Gold who emerged triumphant as Fin Smith punched a stoppage‑time penalty through the posts to secure a 41-38 victory.
While win number 12 of the season was gained, Saints let 21-7, 26-14 and 31-21 leads slip — and although they never fell behind, it took a late TMO intervention to ensure the points on offer in Round 14 were not shared.
“It’s a really weird feeling,” said Fraser Dingwall, who led the side in George Furbank’s absence. “You don’t get much satisfaction from games like that, when you feel like you don’t perform and it feels like we were lacklustre and drifting through the game in large parts.
“There were so many elements of what we value, and what we want to be so much better at, that we were poor in.
Bath, who have an Investec Champions Cup semi‑final with Bordeaux‑Bègles next weekend, rotated their side for the trip to Northampton, leaving the likes of Finn Russell, Alfie Barbeary and Ben Spencer at home.
But they were still able to pick a squad that included England internationals Sam Underhill and Ted Hill among the replacements, and they went toe‑to‑toe with Saints – who claimed victory in the reverse fixture at The Rec in December having themselves shuffled the side, with several front‑line internationals missing out.
When asked if Bath’s selection played a part in Saints’ performance, Dingwall replied: “Potentially, there was obviously something that’s played on people’s minds.
“There are so many parts of the game – all the little bits, all the fundamentals that make your game tick – that we weren’t on today. So it has to be down to external factors, whether that be whoever they put out, the lead we gathered, whatever it might be. That’s the disappointing thing. To be the best, and to be what we want to be, you have to push every single week so you get better each time, understand what you’re about and create habits.”
Half of Saints’ six tries were scored by Tommy Freeman, who recorded his third hat‑trick of the season. Ollie Sleightholme continued his hot streak with a try in each half – making it six Saints games in a row with a score – while Fin Smith finished with 16 points courtesy of a try, four conversions and the match‑winning penalty.
The victory, coupled with Leicester Tigers’ earlier loss at Saracens, opens a ten‑point gap between Saints and the chasing pack for a home Gallagher PREM semi‑final — with the East Midlands rivals set to meet in a fortnight at Mattioli Woods Welford Road.
Both Tigers and Saints exited Europe in the knock-out stages, meaning a match‑free week awaits, something Dingwall is relishing before launching into the final four fixtures of the regular season.
“It will be good for the boys to get a bit of a break and come back for that final block,” he said. “There’s four league games left, there’s some stuff we want to tick off, there’s some achievements we want to make, and there are also only four games left for a lot of class boys who have given a lot to this club over the years.”