Northampton Saints v Bath: Winners and losers as England hopeful produces ‘elite’ performance while Bomb Squad weakness ‘exposed’
Fin Smith kicking a penalty for Northampton Saints against Bath and Will Muir picking up an injury.
Following a 35-34 victory for Northampton Saints over Bath at Franklin’s Gardens on Sunday, here are our winners and losers from the Premiership clash.
Winners
Fin Smith
With doubts around George Ford’s fitness and Marcus Smith not quite at his best in a struggling Harlequins outfit, this was the ideal time for the Saints fly-half to produce a stellar performance. Northampton’s playmaker was utterly outstanding at Franklin’s Gardens, showing his vast array of skills as the hosts had the bonus-point wrapped up before the half-hour mark.
He was also accurate off the tee and made the right decisions of when to pass or kick. It was an elite performance from the youngster, who’s simply unfortunate to be playing at the same time as Marcus Smith and Ford. However, he would certainly excel in the Six Nations if given an opportunity by Steve Borthwick.
Northampton’s other England hopefuls
Although Smith was the standout and rightly named man of the match, there were too many other brilliant individual Saints performances to give them all a section each. Up front, Curtis Langdon was tireless and went the full 80, while Tom Pearson put in a bruising display, before Henry Pollock came on to add his usual energy in the second period.
Behind the scrum, Smith’s half-back partner, Alex Mitchell, is back to his best after returning from injury and Fraser Dingwall was his usual brilliant self at centre. George Hendy was one of the stars of the first half and we very much hope his injury is not too serious, while Australian James Ramm is an English-qualified wing who could interest Steve Borthwick.
Bath’s leaders
We’ve extolled the virtues of the Saints players but, equally, Bath deserved to be praised in what was a stunning game of rugby. They were not at their best in the opening half-hour as they slipped 26-12 behind, but their big players stepped up after the break. Half-backs Ben Spencer and Finn Russell, despite a few mistakes here and there, managed to get the team back into the game, while Sam Underhill, despite the late penalty, was mammoth.
In the second period, Johann van Graan’s men managed to get on top physically with Will Stuart and his tighthead replacement, Thomas du Toit, making some headway through the heart of the Saints defence. The underrated Miles Reid also shone, carrying hard and making turnovers at the breakdown, and that enabled them to get to within touching distance of an unlikely win.
The Premiership
A repeat of last season’s Premiership final and it lived up to that billing. Both teams showed the best of the league, as well as what rugby can offer in general, with a stunning game which combined physicality and intensity with some silky skills.
Usually nine tries in a match indicates poor defence but not in this encounter as some of the hits from both sides were absolutely ferocious. Defending champions Northampton may not have been at their best this season, but they were superb on Sunday and it made for a thrilling clash.
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Losers
Will Muir
The speedster unfortunately picked up an injury after it looked like his hamstring went in the first half. Muir is one of those players who has been on the fringes of the England squad and this probably ends his chances of forcing his way in for the Six Nations.
With Muir now 29 years of age, the upcoming tournament was possibly his final opportunity given how competitive the wing spot is. It is very untimely for the talented back, who impressed for England A last year and could have been in with a shot of a call-up.
Other injuries
There was a relatively high attrition rate as Guy Pepper went off after picking up another concerning injury while star of the first half, Hendy, was also replaced after picking up a shoulder/arm problem.
It is particularly concerning for Pepper, who has endured his fair share of injury troubles in his career so far. The flanker is only 21 but he has spent quite a bit of time on the sidelines already, so hopefully this latest issue is nothing serious and he can return quickly.
Bomb Squad
In fairness, the bench did make a good impact overall, but this game rather exposed the key weakness of the 7-1 split. With Bath only having one back among the replacements, it forced them to put flanker Josh Bayliss on the wing. He is probably as quick as a back and the visitors did a good job of managing the setback, but it took away the impact Bayliss could have on the game.
Of course, there could have also been a benefit, allowing them to have Underhill and Jaco Coetzee among the replacements. And although the former was exceptional, he gave away the penalty that led to the winning score, while Coetzee was forced off just two minutes after coming onto the pitch. Ultimately, the risk of the 7-1 ‘Bomb Squad’ just didn’t quite pay off on this occasion.
