High-flyers Bath scored 10 tries against 14-man Saracens as they handed the visitors a record Gallagher Premiership defeat on Saturday.
A hat-trick by Will Muir, including a 78th-minute try, and a double for Joe Cokanasiga sealed a triumphant day for the league’s top side, who have now won six league games in a row.
But it was a forgettable afternoon for Saracens, who had Toby Knight sent off just 14 minutes in, following a TMO review for a high and dangerous tackle on Ollie Lawrence.
Bath started brightly and were rewarded for their early pressure with a penalty try as Liam Williams deliberately knocked the ball on with Cokanasiga looking set to score.
The visitors were further hampered as the injured Theo McFarland and Tobias Elliott hobbled off and were replaced by Nathan Michelow and Angus Hall respectively, and shortly after Saracens had a try by Ben Earl disallowed for a forward pass.
The crucial moment came just 14 minutes in as the referee reviewed a dangerous challenge by Knight. He was shown a straight red after the TMO review for direct head contact, and from there it was a long way back for Saracens.
Thomas du Toit scored immediately as the hosts took advantage of having the extra man, with Finn Russell making his first conversion of a hugely successful afternoon.
Fergus Burke converted a penalty to get the visitors on the board, but Russell teed up Cameron Redpath for a try under the posts and easily landed the conversion.
A brilliant first half continued for Bath as Ben Spencer broke away from the scrum to pick out a charging Muir, who opened his account in the 37th minute.
Russell again converted to put Bath 28-3 up at half-time, with the bonus-point try already secured.
Things went from bad to worse for the visitors in the second half as Cokanasiga scored six minutes in, benefiting from a great run by Lawrence, who wrong-footed two hapless defenders before offloading the ball.
Russell missed the conversion but the points kept coming, despite the game securely in the bag, with Muir charging over the line for his second and Sam Underhill scoring.
Saracens were firmly contained, with Kapeli Pifeleti notching a consolatory single try for the visitors 66 minutes in and Burke converting to put the visitors in double figures.
But with the clock ticking down, Bath showed no sign of slowing. Lawrence, Cokanasiga and Muir all scored again in the final eight minutes, the latter securing his hat-trick with a minute left as he flew through acres of space left by the tired visitors’ defence.
It was a day to forget for Saracens but a superb display from Bath, who now have a 10-point gap over the visitors.
It was only the fifth time Saracens had conceded 60 points or more in a Premiership match, with three of those humiliations occurring against Bath.
Nine-try Saints thrash scoreless Falcons
Northampton Saints ended their run of three consecutive Premiership defeats with a 61-0 hammering of Newcastle Falcons at Franklin’s Gardens.
Saints secured a bonus point within 15 minutes, starting with Alex Coles scoring after just five minutes. Former Newcastle prop scored a quick-fire brace for the hosts shortly after, with Alex Mitchell then bursting through a gap in the defence for the bonus point score.
Australian flanker Josh Kemeny marked his first match back in eight weeks with a try as he broke through on Tommy Freeman’s shoulder and crossed the line.
Despite a yellow card for Fin Smith which led to a breakdown offence, the Falcons remained scoreless and were unable to profit during the 10-minute period.
Even with their talisman missing, the Saints scored their sixth try of the first half as Fraser Dingwall fed Freeman close to the line. The winger is now just one try shy of reaching 50 for the club.
With the win sown up within 40 minutes, director of rugby Phil Dowson was able to ring the changes for Northampton, and it was replacement back-rower Iakopo Mapu who produced a shuddering run from the base of a scrum to break down the Falcons’ defence, allowing Tom Pearson to scoop up and score his first try.
Pearson quickly added his second to hit the 50-point mark in just under 50 minutes, and Rory Hutchinson added a last-gasp try that piled even more misery on the visitors.
The hugely dominant win means Northampton end the year on a high note as they climb up out of the bottom three, just six months after winning their first Premiership title in 10 seasons.
Dowson spoke after the win and said : “I know the fans are disappointed from last week [a 39-24 defeat by Saracens], and the coaching group, but the players most of all, they’re out there and don’t want to be in that position.
“The best opportunity to rectify that was today and I thought you saw how engaged the group were and how desperate they are.
“We’ve got to be careful we don’t see false dawns every other week. We need to make sure our performance levels continue to rise, and keep pushing and that we understand the symptoms of success.”
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Author : rugby-247
Publish date : 2024-12-29 18:18:29
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