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Match Report: Bath Rugby 27 – 14 Northampton Saints

An off-colour Northampton Saints were beaten 27-14 by Bath Rugby on an afternoon to forget at the Rec.

The men in Black, Green and Gold went in at the interval 14-0 behind despite having the lion’s share of possession and territory, as both Miles Reid and Tom Dunn scored for Bath while Northampton’s attack stuttered at the other end.

While they pegged back the hosts with a Tom Collins try after the break, an intercept try from Cameron Redpath with less than 15 minutes remaining put the result beyond doubt – meaning a late score for replacement Sam Graham was just a consolation for Saints.

FIRST HALF

With ten minutes played, Ollie Lawrence’s kick over the top went dead, and Saints took advantage from the resulting scrum by winning a penalty – but Grayson could not open the scoring from the tee as his kick just drifted wide of the posts.

Two further penalties were then won by Northampton inside Bath’s 22, but after both were sent into the corner, eventually Alex Coles was held up short of the line and the hosts earned a scrum to relieve the pressure.

Bath took the lead after 19 minutes with their first real foray into Northampton territory, as Redpath dummied his way through a gap and delayed his pass perfectly for Reid to score on his shoulder.

George Worboys made no mistake with the conversion to send the hosts 7-0 up, but Saints were soon back down the other end and turned down a shot at goal in the 27th minute for a tackle off the ball by Bath.

Instead, Grayson sent the penalty into the corner but, again, Saints’ maul was repelled and eventually Joe Cokanasiga was able to break from deep with Worboys in support.

Saints were pinged at the breakdown as they looked to pinch back possession, and Bath again made them pay as they kicked to the corner and Dunn scored at the back of an effective driving maul, with Worboys adding the extras from out wide.

Saints did cross the whitewash before the end of the half, but Ollie Sleightholme’s try was chalked off by the TMO as the final pass glanced forward off David Ribbans’ body, and Northampton went into the sheds 14-0 behind.

SECOND HALF

Worboys missed a shot at goal eight minutes into the second half to hand Saints a reprieve, and the visitors then came close to scoring shortly after as George Furbank sparked a counter attack – linking up with Collins and Juarno Augustus – but the fullback sent a pass into touch to end the move.

But finally Saints breached the Bath defence in the 53rd minute, as Alex Mitchell quickly took a penalty before Furbank spun the ball wide for Collins to score in the corner.

Grayson’s conversion from the touchline crept inside the post, leaving the deficit at seven points, but Northampton lost skipper Lewis Ludlam to injury not long after – with Graham entering the action.

Saints conceded a couple of penalties in quick succession, and Worboys extended Bath’s lead to ten with a shot from in front of the posts with 14 minutes to play.

And Redpath made the result safe two minutes later as he intercepted an offload in midfield and scampered clear to score untouched.

Worboys’ conversion made it 24-7, and while Northampton closed the deficit again with a maul score for Graham, Worboys added another penalty before the full-time whistle to cap a highly frustrating afternoon for Saints.

LINE-UPS

BATH: Gallagher, Cokanasiga, Lawrence, Redpath, Butt, Worboys, Schreuder; Schoeman, Dunn (c), Coetzee, Attwood, Roux, Bayliss, Reid, de Carpentier.
Replacements: Annett, Cordwell, Rae, Lee-Warner, Hill, Carr-Smith, Searle, Ojomoh.

SAINTS: Furbank, Collins, Proctor, Dingwall, O Sleightholme, J Grayson, Mitchell; A Waller, S Matavesi, Hill, Salakaia-Loto, Ribbans, Coles, Ludlam, Augustus.
Replacements: R Smith, Iyogun, Petch, Moon, Graham, James, Litchfield, Hendy.

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