Bath v Northampton Saints: Five takeaways as ‘unstoppable’ Pollock and Freeman’s ‘demolition job’ at the Rec
Northampton Saints' Henry Pollock and Tommy Freeman against Bath at the Rec.
Following Northampton’s 41-21 win over Bath at the Recreation Ground, here are our five key takeaways from Saturday night’s PREM clash.
The top line
Tommy Freeman and Henry Pollock combined to score five tries, demolish champions Bath and send Northampton Saints two points clear at the top of the Gallagher PREM with an unforgettable performance in the West Country.
The England duo were unstoppable as Saints, fielding a massively understrength side, tore apart a Bath side who had forgotten how it felt to lose at home.
Saints, who rested England stars Fin Smith, Alex Mitchell, Fraser Dingwall, Alex Coles and George Furbank, had won only once at the Rec in the past decade.
Yet this was a demolition job and had they not had three tries controversially chalked off the margin would have been far greater against opponents who led twice early on before falling away with 44 missed tackles.
Rock on Tommy
Tommy Freeman claimed a hat-trick to join Noah Caluori at the top of the PREM try charts with eight on the season. Playing at outside-centre, he was a dominant presence throughout.
Coming into the game fans and pundits alike had wondered how he would fare against Ollie Lawrence, England’s first-choice 13. It was a resounding victory for the Saints man.
Lawrence’s night was summed up when he dropped the ball over the line at the death, costing Bath a four-try bonus point. In contrast, everything Freeman touched turned to gold.
In the third minute, he ran a sublime line onto a pass from Robbie Smith to put Northampton ahead on their first attack. Fifty minutes later, he dummied his way past Joe Cokanasiga to score a beauty and level the scores at 21 apiece.
After completing his hat-trick four minutes from time, again getting the better of Cokanasiga, he admitted: “I’m lost for words to be honest.
“I think a lot of people wrote us off. We just wanted to come out here, leave nothing out there and take every opportunity.” Saints did that and more.
Northampton get thin end of the wedge
Remarkably, Saints will look back at three key decisions and argue with some merit that they cost them 21 points.
Five minutes into the contest, with the visitors already Freeman’s opening try to the good, Rory Hutchinson hacked on cleverly for Edoardo Todaro to race away and score.
Before the Italian had touched down referee Craig Maxwell-Keys blew up for what he saw as a knock-on earlier in the move. Replays failed to support his decision.
If that bugged Northampton, their frustration peaked shortly past the half-hour mark when Anthony Belleau and George Hendy sent Freeman to the line. Although Tom de Glanville and the left upright combined to stop the England man, Callum Chick finished the job.
Or so he thought. TMO Dan Jones then intervened, calling Maxwell-Keys’ attention to a ruck in the build-up at which Bath prop Beno Obano was held in the tackle for longer than necessary.
Between them the officials adjudged that Obano might have filled the hole through which Saints poured. Only, the front row man was looking in the opposite direction.
“That’s really rough on Saints,” said TNT Sports pundit David Flatman, a former Bath prop. “Nowhere else on the pitch is that a problem.”
Instead of leading, Northampton found themselves behind until the 50th minute when Rory Hutchinson went over from a Henry Pollock pass.
The try was given but again TMO Jones was unhappy, drawing the ref’s attention to his belief the ball was touched down short of the line.
To overturn the decision it needed to be clear and obvious. “That was not clearly and obviously short for me,” concluded Flatman.
By the end, what was clear and obvious was Northampton’s superiority. This was a statement win to send shockwaves through English rugby.
Ojomoh/Lawrence destined to stay apart
Finally a Bath team sheet with Lawrence and Max Ojomoh starting together in midfield. Save for one Prem game in early October it had not happened all season. A Christmas treat then for, in particular, England head coach Steve Borthwick.
At least it would have been had it lasted beyond the 33rd minute when Ojomoh appeared to strain a calf muscle and was escorted from the fray.
We had wondered how this might look since Ojomoh was handed a late start for England against Argentina. Lawrence started the Tests with Fiji and New Zealand, against whom he was outstanding before suffering injury.
A week later, against the Pumas, Ojomoh scored a try, made another and was a delight to watch.
It left many pondering how an England midfield with the pair in harness might work. Hopefully one day we will find out. There was not enough evidence here to form an opinion on that, only to conclude that with Freeman in this form, an all-Bath England midfield in the near future is unlikely.
Pollock does what Pollock does
If there is one thing we have learned in 2025, it is that you can’t keep Pollock out of a story.
The England youngster enjoyed a sensational second half, scoring two tries, very nearly grabbing a third, and providing another memorable scoring celebration.
This time it was to mimic the ref calling for a look at the big screen, in reaction to three Saints tries being controversially disallowed.
It will probably earn him a talking to from the powers that be behind the scenes but it encapsulated Northampton’s refusal to accept odds which appeared stacked against them.
His first try came after George Hendy picked up from a Henry Arundell spill and sent the number eight away to score. Ten minutes later He was mauled over from far closer range. As the New Year approaches rest assured he will be one of the stars we talk about in 2026.
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