Tommy Freeman and Saints blast past Bath to top table

Nothing could have encapsulated that like the final throes of an extraordinary game. Henry Arundell, who looked totally blinkered and out of sorts, found a glimmer of space down the left, inside the Northampton 22. The wing spotted Lawrence on his inside but the centre, who had already shelled one over the line, inexplicably dropped a pass with the line at his mercy, which scuppered Bath’s bonus-point hopes. Undoubtedly, the day belonged to the Saints. 2025 will forever belong to Bath and their treble heroes but, 2026? Saints would be as safe a bet as any.

Match details

Scoring sequence: 0-5 Freeman try, 0-7 Belleau con, 5-7 Du Toit try, 7-7 Russell con, 7-12 McParland try, 7-14 Belleau con, 12-14 Dunn try, 14-14 Russell con, 19-14 Du Toit try, 21-14 Russell con, 21-19 Freeman try, 21-21 Belleau con, 21-26 Pollock try, 21-28 Belleau con, 21-33 Pollock try, 21-36 Belleau pen, 21-38 Freeman try.

Bath: T de Glanville (S Carreras 56); J Cokanasiga, O Lawrence, M Ojomoh (C Harris 30), H Arundell; F Russell, B Spencer (T Carr-Smith 71); B Obano, T Dunn (D Frost 64), T du Toit (A Griffin 64), Q Roux (T Hill 56), R Molony, J Bayliss, S Underhill, M Reid.
Replacements: F van Wyk, G Pepper.
Sin-bin: D Frost.

Northampton: G Hendy; E Todaro, T Freeman, R Hutchinson (H Lumley, 22), J Ramm (O Sleightholme 73); A Belleau, A McParland (T James 76); E Iyogun, R Smith (H Walker 66), T Davison (E Millar Mills 61), E Prowse (A Benson 76), C Munga, C Chick, S Graham, H Pollock (F Brown 76).
Replacement: O Scola.
Sin-bin: E Prowse.

Referee: Craig Maxwell-Keys.