There are plenty of would-be contenders to win this year’s Premiership but they still have to prise Saracens’s stubborn fingers off the trophy. When push comes to shove the defending champions tend to raise their game and a resolute defensive display was rewarded when Owen Farrell kicked the winning penalty goal three minutes from time to edge a tense contest.
So much for the increasing trend towards wide open, free-flowing Premiership try-fests. This was a frequently rugged, old school game, ultimately shaped by defensive commitment, and when the dust finally settled it was Sarries who emerged best placed to secure a potential home semi-final when the playoffs commence next month.
They had to work mighty hard for it, keeping Bath scoreless in the first 40 minutes and building victory on the foundations of first-half Sarries tries from Tom Parton and Rotimi Segun. Just when it seemed as though close-quarters tries from Thomas du Toit and Cameron Redpath would see Bath home, however, a late penalty in front of the posts gave Farrell the chance to silence the home crowd. It was not always pretty, with Saracens repeatedly opting to kick the ball high and deny their hosts the oxygen of easy attacking ball, but the ends fully justified the means. While there are certain to be plenty more twists and turns between now and the end of the regular season, this outcome may well have a major impact on the final top four shakedown
The watching England head coach, Steve Borthwick, had no shortage of international squad members to monitor on a cool, still evening but it was the uncapped Parton who opened the scoring in the 13th minute, benefiting from a long pass from the Wales centre Nick Tompkins.
Bath also did not have the brilliant Finn Russell to marshal the midfield traffic but they did have the bullocking Alfie Barbeary to batter opponents and put the home side back on the front foot. A misjudged close-range lineout move, however, cost them a potential first try and Sarries’ kick-heavy tactics restricted the game’s attacking flow.
The biggest first-half talking point then arrived when Maro Itoje burst out of the defensive line and clattered Barbeary high, prompting howls of protest from the home faithful. The replays did not look at all great but the referee, Luke Pearce, eventually ruled the offence was only worthy a yellow card.
It put the onus on Bath to make the most of their numerical advantage in the remaining 10 minute period before the interval. Saracens’ scramble defence, though, was excellent and with Elliot Daly marshalling things calmly from full-back there was to be an unexpected twist in the first-half narrative.
In the closing moments before the interval the ball bounced loose in the Saracens half and Segun burst on to it, leaving a clutch of Bath defenders trailing in his wake. Suddenly the pressure was back on Bath and Farrell’s deft kick-pass found Segun who touched down in the right corner at increase his side’s half-time lead.
It was a far cry from the last time Saracens played beside the River Avon at the end of last season when they ended up conceding 61 points, albeit with a weakened matchday squad. They are a less consistent side than in their trophy-laden heyday but a touch of their old familiar cussedness was increasingly evident.
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With 52 kicks in the first-half alone the crowd were desperate for Bath to offer something more uplifting but it was Saracens, now back to 15, who came closest to the first points of the second half when Parton was put clear and almost made it to the left corner.
Bath knew they had to respond and duly did so when their replacement front-row drove Saracens up and backwards at a keynote scrum. Now it was the visitors who were under siege and after 56 minutes Bath finally put themselves on the scoreboard when Du Toit crashed over after Bath had declined a penalty kick at goal in favour of a close-range rumble.
Things were about to get even better when another driving maul eight minutes later ended up with a delighted Redpath at the bottom of the heap. Ben Spencer slotted the conversion to tie the scores only for Farrell to spark a wonderful 80-metre break-out and force an attacking five-metre scrum. Sarries had their chance to nick a vital victory and Farrell duly took it.