Premiership Review - Bath 21 - 11 Saracens

Home advantage seems to have more significance in rugby than other sports.  Perhaps because of the tribal nature of the game and the impact intimidation can have on a performance, but you think of the reputation (now crumbling) of Welford Road and the 7 billion games (or thereabouts) that Clermont remained unbeaten in their backyard, and you begin to see a pattern that you don’t get even with top football sides.  But the Rec?  Sure, it’s never been easy, but recent Bath sides have not always had domineering intimidation at the top of their list of qualities.  Perhaps one of the reasons why their visitors on Friday night, Saracens (the league favourites), hadn’t lost their in 4 years.

 

This, though, is a very different Bath side to years gone by.  That much was apparent in the opening exchanges as Saracens struggled to make significant inroads into the Bath defence, despite having the better of the early territory.  Billy Vunipola was the only man to make decent yardage against a pumped-up Bath defence, with Dave Attwood proving a menacing figure at the breakdown and Alafoti Fa’osiliva (only starting because of injuries to Carl Fearns and Matt Garvey) proving more than a match for the big number-eight’s no-frills physicality.  That said, the pressure was enough to earn Charlie Hodgson a pot at goal, although the former England man set the tone for a surprisingly poor night for the kickers as his effort struck the post.

 

So Sarries effectively came away with nothing, despite their territorial dominance, and the West Country side made them pay with a try from nothing moments later.  George Ford launched a towering up and under which came down just past the visitors’ 10 metre line, but Alex Goode lost sight of the ball completely, allowing it to bounce.  Centre Duncan Taylor swept up the high-bouncing ball but, simultaneously, attempted an ill-advised offload to Vunipola, sending the ball to ground and allowing Kyle Eastmond to sweep up the crumbs and feed Jonathan Joseph, who scorched in for the game’s opening score.

 

Ford added a conversion, but was then off target with two further attempts as the hosts began to show far greater incision in attack, with Semesa Rokoduguni causing all kinds of problems with his balanced and powerful runs and the centre pairing of Eastmond and Joseph combing with slick menace on more than once occasion.  Ford was dictating things nicely, but he was looking dodgy from the boot, shanking two penalties before nailing his third to re-open a 7 point gap, shortly after Hodgson had previously narrowed it.  Goode then added another three against the run of play when Hodgson was down receiving treatment.

 

It was now Bath, though, who had their tails up and who were dominating the possession, and they nearly went over again when Rokoduguni nearly reached a Joseph grubber first, only to be denied by a backtracking Neil De Kock.  In fact, Saracens’ defence was keeping them in the game, with big hits from Jacques Burger stifling momentum where possible and a great turnover from Kelly Brown pinching the ball at a crucial time.  The Sarries attacking game, though, was struggling to get going – partly because of a superb Bath linespeed, and partly because of the linesman’s refusal to notice some fairly obvious offsides.  The constant struggle for possession, though ,was always going to eventually tell in Bath’s favour – although the manner in which it did was, in my opinion, rather questionable.

 

With quick ball creating an overlap out wide, the ball was flung towards the wing, causing Chris Ashton to rush infield to try and intercept the ball and cut off the threat.  His attempt was unsuccessful and Greg Garner’s automatic reaction was to declare a deliberate knock on and wield the yellow card.  This rule has gone too far now – looking at the replays, there was a genuine attempt by Ashton to catch the ball, but the fact that the ball hit one hand more often than not means that the man in the middle automatically goes to his pocket.  That shouldn’t be the case, but whatever the rights and wrongs of the call, Sarries were down to 14 men and – following Ford’s successful penalty – down 13 – 6 on the scoreboard at the break.

 

Bath made the extra-man count early in the second half as they broke from deep – Fa’osiliva barrelling up the field before being brought down in an almighty collision with Vunipola, before Joseph screamed through a backpeddling Bath defence to put his centre partner Eastmond in for another superb score.  Ford missed the conversion, but the hosts were cutting loose now and Sarries were in danger of suffering a fate similar to that of Leicester just a fortnight earlier.  Fa’osiliva, Eastmond and Rokodugini were having majestic games, slicing through the much-vaunted wolf-pack at will – but Saracens aren’t title favourites for nothing.

 

Showing trademark levels of determination and grit, they forced themselves up field and finally generated some quick ball to provide space for Chris Wyles – who had been lively and committed throughout, despite playing in his less-favoured position of centre – to wriggle over the line to haul his side back into the game.  With the score perched at 18 – 11 heading into the final 10 minutes, you got the feeling that – although Bath had seemed largely dominant in all areas of the game – Sarries could somehow snatch something from the Rec.

Roared on by a full-house though, this Bath side were never going to let that happen, and another Ford penalty to the game away from Sarries along with the losing bonus point, leaving the final score at 21 – 11. 

 

It was the kind of brutal encounter you expect between two sides competing for the top prize, but Bath looked very comfortable indeed, despite the new territory.  It may still be early days, but the Rec is looking like a fortress, and the gauntlet has been well and truly set.
 

 

Let’s take a look at the weekend’s other results:

 

Harlequins 52 – 0 London Welsh:  It just goes from bad to well...very bad for the Premiership new boys.  They conceded 52 points precisely for the second time this season, with Quins giving their season a much needed boost with scores from Mike Brown, Danny Care, Marland Yarde (2), Mike Hopper, Karl Dickson and a penalty try.

 

London Irish 12 – 19 Northampton Saints:   London Irish once again turned some heads with another physical display which pushed champions Saints all the way.  They were unable to recover from a first half try from Luther Burrell, however, with the England centre coasting through some pretty poor defence on his way to the line.

 

Gloucester Rugby 33 – 16 Leicester Tigers:  Leicester slumped to their third consecutive defeat for the first time since 2011 in the midst of an almost unprecedented injury crisis, but the Cherry and Whites will be disappointed that they couldn’t convert their dominance into a try bonus point.  The hosts scored through Nick Wood, Charlie Sharples and Johnny May, with David Mele scoring a late consolation for the visitors.

 

Newcastle Falcons 29 – 24 Exeter Chiefs:  The Falcons broke their 11 month winless streak with a fine win over the in-form Chiefs that rewarded the patience of their long-suffering fans.  They feared the worst though when Tom Waldrom, Ben White and Henry Slade crossed for first half scores for Exeter, but a try from Sinoti Sinoti and second half efforts from Tom Catterick and Noah Cato clinched the much needed win for the hosts.

 

Sale Sharks 25 -14 Wasps:  In what turned out to be a precursor to a difficult week for the men in black, Wasps lost out in a tight encounter against the Sharks.  Luke Arscott, Chris Cusiter and Tom Brady crossed for the hosts, whilst tries from Nathan Hughes and Christian Wade kept the visitors in contention until late on.