Sarries pull the plug on Bath

 

Team news saw Alex Goode start at full back, with Chris Ashton and Chris Wyles on the wings, and a central partnership of Brad Barritt and Duncan Taylor, whilst Neil de Kock and Charlie Hodgson formed the half back combination. Into the forwards, and the front row contained Richard Barrington, Jamie George and Petrus du Plessis, whilst Maro Itoje and Alistair Hargreaves formed the second row, and Kelly Brown, Jacques Burger and Jackson Wray completed the starting line up. For Bath, new signing Tom Homer, from London Irish, went straight in at full back, Semesa Rokoduguni and Ollie Woodburn were on the wings, whilst Kyle Eastmond and Sam Burgess were in the centres, with Matt Banahan not featuring in the matchday 23. Fly half Ollie Devoto and scrum half Chris Cook filled the half-back roles. Former Saracens Nick Auterac featured at loosehead prop, with Ross Batty at hooker and Henry Thomas at tighthead. Another former Sarrie, Stuart Hooper, was at lock alongside Dominic Day, and the back row consisted of Matt Garvey, Francois Louw and Leroy Houston.

 

Saracens settled the more quickly of the sides, and, inside the first minute had already forced a penalty and seen Hodgson go wide with an opportunistic drop goal attempt. Moments later, a de Kock kick was fumbled, and Goode, outstanding in attack all game, nearly set up Wyles for a try on the left, but that combination would go on to reap dividends later in the match. The home side were already putting some intricate moves together and enjoying the territorial advantage but the visitors were holding firm in defence and content to kick in these early stages. That said, Bath had a decent change after nine minutes, when Devoto surged into the home 22 from deep in his own half and found Rokoduguni to his right with a low pass, only for Brown to win a crucial turnover as the visitors looked to sustain the pressure. The visitors took the lead three minutes later, as Saracens strayed offside and Homer struck his first points in a Bath shirt for a 3-0 lead, with the newcomer impressing throughout the game by initiating some impressive counter-attacks, including one shortly after the penalty which was halted by a Day knock-on. There was to be a further blow for the hosts as Taylor went off with a leg injury to be replaced by Tim Streather.

 

However, they continued to exert more pressure, but were being repelled by the visitors, finally drawing level after 20 minutes, when Burger latched onto a stray line-out and began a flowing move which culminated in Hodgson levelled the match from 40 metres out. A few minutes later, a fantastic chase had Bath pinned in the own 22, and though they escaped to start with, it wasn't long before the home side had their first try. An excellent move began with Streather and Ashton on the right, and continued with a break by Hargreaves through the middle, before the ball went through the hands of Hodgson and Goode for Wyles to race along the left touchline and cut in for an unconverted try and an 8-3 lead. Bath looked to respond immediately, but after a penalty had given them good field position, the ball worked loose and Saracens cleared, and they found themselves further behind on the half-hour mark as Goode made it 11-3, as Houston strayed off his feet. The visitors made a statement with a purposeful break from Thomas setting up Burgess, but, again, Sarries managed to scramble the ball away. Five minutes before the break, there was a moment of controversy. Hodgson's kick on halfway seemed to be going straight out, Rokoduguni certainly thought so, but instead, Wyles chased and clipped the ball forward, and there was a suggestion that he was impeded by Homer as he attempted to gather, but no action was taken. Homer was involved again in Bath's most sweeping move of the match so far, as he combined with Burgess to find Rokoduguni 10 metres, but the move was halted due to a forward pass, and it remained 11-3 at the interval.

 

Not sure what the queues were like at half-time today, but anyone coming back late would have missed a frantic period of action, with three tries scored by the 49th minute. In a match which, at this stage, appeared likely to be settled on fine margins, Bath's failure to claim the kick-off saw the hosts immediately on the attack, and it wasn't long before a scrum penalty gave Goode the chance to extent their lead to 14-3. A quite outstanding team try stretched Saracens' advantage further. Once again, Hodgson and Goode were there at the start to find Wray, whose half break put de Kock in a fine position on the edge of the 22 to reach Ashton with a long pass, and George finished off in the left hand corner. Goode capped it with the extra two points. With the lead looking ominous, Bath replied almost immediately. An excellent break and pass by Devoto sent Rokoduguni away to burst through an unusually static home defence, and Devoto added the conversion. Within two minutes, though, Saracens scored their third try. Again initiated by Goode and Hodgson, Barritt put a fine kick through allowing Ashton to finish on the right hand corner, and, yet again, Goode converted successfully.

 

In my notes at this stage of the game, and given the relentless pressure Saracens were now exerting, I suggested that it was a question of when not if the bonus point would be scored. Indeed, but for a very rare handling error, it would have come in the 51st minute. as another Wray break saw the ball moved around the backs, and a close-range lineout forced, only for the move to break down. As they made wholesale changes to their forwards, Bath struggled to gain any momentum, as their now sporadic attacks were thwarted by handling errors. Their predicament was worsened as the home side had gained the upper hand in the scrum by now, and, to prove the point, Goode extended the home lead to 31-10 just before the hour. A change for his side saw Ernst Joubert replace Burger for the last 20 minutes, followed by David Strettle and Rhys Gill replacing Hodgson and Barrington respectively.

 

Having had a couple of half chances, as they belatedly forced some pressure, Bath struck twice in three minutes to threaten a stirring comeback as Kyle Eastmond's excellent pass saw Woodburn ghost through to the left of the posts, in a score which was referred to the TMO due to a suspicion of obstruction by Burgess, but it was awarded and Devoto converted for 31-17. Continuing the momentum, an electric burst by Eastmond created the opportunity for Rokoduguni to score on his right, and Devoto's extra two points put the West Country side on course for a losing bonus point, or, with around eight minutes left to play, even more. To their credit, Saracens held their discipline and nerve, and establishing a 34-24 lead through Goode in the 76th minute, which meant that the gap on Bath was closed to four points, but, also, given that there were bonus point wins for Wasps, Exeter and Sale, consolidated a top four place.

 

Saracens: 15 Alex Goode; 14 Chris Ashton, 13 Duncan Taylor (Tim Streather 12), 12 Brad Barritt, 11 Chris Wyles; 10 Charlie Hodgson (David Strettle 64), 9 Neil De Kock; 1 Richard Barrington (Rhys Gill 68), 2 Jamie George (Brett Sharman 71), 3 Petrus Du Plessis (James Johnston 71), 4 Maro Itoje, 5 Chris Hargreaves (capt), 6 Kelly Brown (Hayden Smith 71), 7 Jacques Burger (Ernst Joubert 60), 8 Jackson Wray.

 

Bath: 15 Tom Homer, 14 Semesa Rokoduguni, 13 Sam Burgess, 12 Kyle Eastmond, 11 Olly Woodburn; 10 Ollie Devoto, 9 Chris Cook (Micky Young 40); 1 Nick Auterac (Max Lahiff 55), 2 Ross Batty (Rob Webber 51), 3 Henry Thomas (Kane Palma-Newport 60) , 4 Stuart Hooper (capt), 5 Dominic Day, 6 Matt Garvey (Carl Fearns 51), 7 Francois Louw, 8 Leroy Houston

 

Saracens:  Tries: Wyles, George, Ashton. Conv: Goode (2). Pens Hodgson, Goode (4)

 

Bath: Tries: Rokoduguni (2), Woodburn  Conv: Homer (3). Pen: Homer

 

Attendance: 9,225

 

Saracens 34 Bath 24

 

Referee:  Luke Pearce