MATCH REPORT | Bath Rugby 12-15 Saracens Men
Saracens Men secured a famous win as a last gasp penalty from Owen Farrell saw them leave The Recreation Ground with a 15-12 victory over Bath Rugby.
The scores were level in the final quarter in a classic Gallagher Premiership encounter, until the late kick from the captain secured the Men in Black a crucial win in the race for the play-offs.
The match started like a game of chess with both sides using their kicking game to carefully navigate around the pitch.
An early take in the air from Juan Martin Gonzalez almost saw his escape from the defence, and Elliot Daly was heavily involved with his left footed option creating nice angles to win the territory battle.
Sarries then sparked in to life with 10 minutes gone to score the first try of the evening. An incredible attacking spell which all started from an Owen Farrell grubber to Lucio Cinti on half way then ended with a wonderful looping pass from Nick Tompkins which found Tom Parton on the wing who scored his fourth try in two matches. The conversion went wide, but the visitors had signalled their intent.
Another chance then followed, the defensive linespeed forced an error and Tom Willis kicked ahead, but a chasing Gonzalez was beaten by the bounce and Bath dotted it down in their in-goal area.
Bath then looked to get back level and had a golden chance with a penalty which wad kicked to the corner, but they tried a trick play from a lineout and it went forward, much to the relief of the travelling fans.
Maro Itoje was then sent to the sin-bin for a high tackle and Sarries would have to see out the remainder of the first half with 14 men.
Driven by their incredible defensive intensity, that is exactly what they did as a whole catalogue of defensive sets showed their commitment to the title race.
It almost got better just before the break, Eroni Mawi broke the defence and released Willis, who passed outside to Gonzalez but the Bath defence managed to scramble back.
Then in the final play of the half, in typical smash and grab style Sarries scored their second with a world class try from Rotimi Segun to give them some breathing space.
He broke in to the 22 and then Farrell spotted some space, with an inch-perfect kick to Segun on the wing who could gather and dive over in the corner. The conversion from the touchline was outstanding, and now Sarries headed down the tunnel with a 12-0 lead.
Parton almost gave Sarries the perfect start to the second half, Ben Earl took the ball from the base of a lineout and then the winger went flying though a gap, who then ran 60 metres but was eventually dragged in to touch by Joe Cokanasiga.
Sarries were happy to soak up the pressure and play on the counter attack, and it almost resulted in try number three when Segun went charging down the right wing but the hosts managed to haul him down just as he entered the 22.
The hosts then cranked up the pressure just before the hour mark and wrestled their way back in to proceedings with a try from Thomas du Toit. A sequence of penalties took them right up to the line and then eventually the prop bundled over from just a metre out. The conversion went just left, meaning Sarries still held a seven point lead as we entered the final quarter.
Bath, who had the bit between their teeth then got themselves level with 15 minutes remaining as they capitalised on some ill-discipline from the visitors. A penalty wad kicked to the corner and then the rolling maul powered over with Cameron Redpath at the base to dot down. Former Saracen Ben Spencer then converted, making it 12-12 and seeing up a grandstand finish.
Roared on by a raucous home crowd, the hosts were on the rampage and with eight minutes left they were camped in the 22 but a stunning defensive set saw Sarries soak up all kinds of pressure and eventually turn the ball over.
Theo Dan then took matters in to his own hands with an incredible line break, and his chip ahead forced Bath to carry over their own line, giving the visitors a golden chance to snatch victory.
The crucial penalty then came right in front of the posts as Bath were offside, and Farrell made no mistake to edge his side 15-12 ahead with just two minutes to go.
They then had to soak up more pressure as Bath climbed the restart, but they did enough and hammered the ball in to touch to spark wild celebrations in the West Country.
