MATCH REPORT | Bath Rugby 68-10 Saracens Men
Saracens Men ended their calendar year in defeat as they were beaten 68-10 by a dominant Bath Rugby at the Recreation Ground.
The table-topping outfit dominated from start to finish against a Sarries side who played for over an hour with 14 men as they were dealt a plethora of tricky cards to navigate on a misty afternoon in the West Country.
The hosts were in the ascendancy early, a box kick in behind from Ben Spencer caused a spot of bother for Tobias Elliott deep in his own 22 and a cruel bounce gave Bath a put in within striking distance.
They crossed with just five minutes gone as Liam Williams was isolated on his own line when looking to gather a cross field kick under pressure, and his knock on saw the referee Karl Dickson give him a yellow card and then run under the posts for a penalty try.
The Men in Black were rocked by early injuries as Theo McFarland and Elliott both had to be replaced within the first eight minutes, but Sarries wouldn’t be phased and almost got back level when Ben Earl scored from a brilliant lineout move but it was disallowed for a forward pass.
Fergus Burke then intercepted Finn Russell kick and showed his pace as he looked to get on the counter attack with the Londoners looking to get back level.
Those hopes suffered a hammer blow with 15 minutes gone though when Toby Knight was shown a red card for a high tackle on Ollie Lawrence, and Sarries were punished straight away asThomas du Toit crossed from close range just one minute later to extend their lead to 14-0.
Angus Hall won the restart for the visitors, and after a number of phases they ground out a penalty which Burke kicked through the posts to get them on the scoreboard.
That joy was short lived though, as another Bath penalty gave them field possession and a neat delay from Russell on the gainline put Cameron Redpath through a gap and he duly obliged to run under the sticks for try number three. The conversion from the Scot made it 21-3 with 25 minutes played.
Sarries had a golden chance to get back in the game when we approached the half hour mark when Williams got on an outside shoulder five metres from the line but a strong defensive set from the hosts somehow saw them escape and a kick dead earned them a 22 drop out.
Bath were eyeing up a bonus point before the break and were looking ominous with a five metre lineout, but some brilliant work from Maro Itoje at lineout time kept Sarries in the hunt.
They did get over for their fourth with just two minutes until half time, a dummy from the base of a scrum from Ben Spencer created an overlap and he released Will Muir who charged over in the corner. Russell’s touchline conversion gave them a 28-3 lead which is how it stayed until half time.
Bath kept coming after the break, and Alfie Barbeary thought it had got even better for them just three minutes after the restart but some great defensive work held him up over the line.
Nathan Michelow then combined well with Jamie George to make some space and enter the Bath half, but just as the ball was spun wide it went forward from the base of the ruck.
They took their next chance though, some smart footwork from Lawrence drew in the final man and released Joe Cokanasiga who had a clear run in the corner from just outside the 22 to take them over 30 points.
Muir then slid over for his second with some fast hands giving him space on the short side, and Russell’s touchline conversion made it 40-3 with 20 minutes to go.
Sam Underhill was next to join their party when he crashed over in the corner from another overlap on the left, but Sarries hit back with their first of the afternoon as a powerful carry from Kapeli Pifeleti saw him hammer through two defenders and dive over the line.
Sarries might have dreamt of a try bonus point with 15 minutes to go, but Lawrence put those hopes to bed when he charged down Sam Spink’s kick and then raced clear from 50 metres to the delight of the home crowd.
Cokanasiga added further gloss with five minutes left when Tom de Glanville released him down the right wing, and Russell’s conversion took them past the 60 point mark.
Muir completed his hat trick with just one minute to go, and that proved to be the final act of a tough day at the office for the North Londoners.
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