2 hours ago
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There are big games and then there are pivotal contests which define entire campaigns. And when it came to the crunch it was Bath who just had enough power to make the semi-finals of the Champions Cup for the first time in 20 years thanks to a 76th minute try from Ted Hill. There is little to separate the two best teams in England and here was another endlessly compelling battle of wits and wills.
Plenty of work still has to be done to reach the final in Bilbao next month with Bath now set to face the winners of Sunday’s mouthwatering all-French tie between Bordeaux and Toulouse. This was a truly sensational hors d’oeuvre, though, with nine tries in the first half alone. Gone are the days of tiptoeing into knockout matches and hoping to edge it 9-6.
It was a humdinger from start to finish. From 28-7 down after just 22 minutes, Bath came roaring back to trail by only 38-33 with 20 minutes left with their opponents temporarily down to 14 players. From there their forward strength tipped the scales, although in some ways it was a shame that one side had to lose although there could yet be a sequel in this year’s Prem final.
Ultimately it was also a triumph for both coaching teams. While Bath’s bench impact in the final quarter is well known and was evident again here, Saints were wonderfully good at times. The visitors were always in the contest with Henry Pollock prominent throughout until he was sin binned, to much local delight, with seven minutes left.
On a calm, cool evening the question was whether Northampton could reproduce the stunning execution that brought them a spectacular 41-21 league win on this ground with a rotated lineup back in December. The visitors were arguably even better value here, rattling up five slick tries in the first half hour alone.
Bath found themselves under intense pressure right from the outset, losing Miles Reid to the sin-bin after just two minutes for cynically trying to slow down the fizzing visitors’ ruck ball. The Saints needed no second invitation to pour forward and Pollock soon plunged over, marking the moment with a slam dunk celebration right in front of the Bath owners’ corporate box.
Northampton, though, are even more dangerous from first phase lineout possession. Next up was a lovely one-handed midfield tip on by Archie McParland which totally confused the home defence and allowed Smith and Freeman to send Fraser Dingwall away for another rip-roaring score. When they attack with such surgical precision they are a complete joy to watch.
And despite a much-needed close-range response finished by Tom Dunn, the Rec was about to go quiet again. Once again the chance was engineered by offloading so brilliant it would have thrilled the deftest of touch typists, creating more than enough time and space for big Tom Lockett to rumble over in the right corner.
Bath, by comparison, were being made to look leaden-footed and short on inspiration. A little bit of luck was also flowing Northampton’s way, a deflected kick ending up in the arms of Rory Hutchinson, who immediately launched another sharp counterattack. Again it was the hugely impressive McParland who provided the crucial link, throwing a splendid inside ball out of the tackle to set up a fourth Saints try, this time for Josh Kemeny.
Bath urgently needed some kind of response and found one when Russell dribbled a loose ball into space and finished with aplomb. It changed little from Saints’ perspective, though, with the newly married Ollie Sleightholme barging past several defenders to register a try on his 100th club appearance.
At 35-14 down, Bath had no other option but to go for broke, helped by the arrival off the bench of the energetic Alfie Barbeary. Two tries inside seven minutes towards the end of the half from Henry Arundell and Francois van Wyk gave the scoreboard a much healthier look but Northampton still held a nine-point advantage after 40 minutes.
A Smith penalty early in the second half extended the lead to 12 and an outstanding tackle by Freeman to deny Ben Spencer in the left corner further raised East Midlands hopes. JJ van der Mescht going to the sin-bin, however, prised open the door up front and Kepu Tuipulotu barged through it for a converted try which gave the Bath faithful fresh voice. If every game between now and the end of the season is as thrilling as this, everyone will be hoarse by June.
