Saracens underline champions’ pedigree to resist Bath fightback

Bath 12 Saracens 15

This is why they are champions. After Bath rallied from 12-0 down to draw level, a late penalty from Owen Farrell ensured that Saracens will be in the box-seat for a home play-off.

Deploying a pragmatic combination of relentless kicking and blitz defending – with Farrell at the heart of both – Saracens smothered the life out of Bath’s attacking talents. A week after Bristol Bears only kicked the ball four times as part of the exhilarating wave of attacking rugby sweeping the Premiership, Saracens played the role of counter-revolutionaries, putting boot to ball 48 times.

Expect it to be a tactic they reprise now we are firmly in the business end of the season. Other teams can win hearts and minds, Mark McCall’s side will focus on silverware in Farrell’s final season at the club, particularly with the potential benefit of a home semi-final – which they have not lost for 11 years. Even after a wobbly few weeks, Saracens underlined why they are the bookmakers’ favourites for the title.

“For us we needed to rediscover that spirit that has always been there but we lost for three weeks,” McCall, the Saracens director of rugby, said. “I think that can be a springboard for us because our rugby can improve.

“We did not have to play perfect rugby tonight, we needed to have each other’s backs and fight for each other, which we did from start to finish.”

‘Farrell was unreal’

After being dominated for an hour, Bath turned the tide with tries from their replacements Thomas du Toit and Cameron Redpath. Head of rugby Johann van Graan described the contest as a Test match in all but name but was left to mutter darkly about the number of high shots Saracens defenders put in with England second row Maro Itoje being lucky to only see yellow for a potential head-on-head collision in the first half.

Fittingly, it fell to Farrell to administer the final word having been at the heart of their defensive effort and helping to create tries for wings Tom Parton and Rotimi Segun in the first half.

“He was unreal,” McCall said. “He competed for everything throughout and his team-mates just followed suit. He has got a magnificent influence on the group when he is in that kind of mood and he loves these sorts of games when everything is on the line.”

It was Farrell’s grubber that put Nick Tompkins into the Bath 22 with centre partner Lucio Cinti in support. Saracens’ red-zone efficiency is among the best in the league and Ben Earl, Farrell and Tompkins showed excellent hands to put Parton over in the corner.

Then with the clock almost red at the end of the first half, Farrell changed the direction of play, delivering the most delicate of chips that Segun gathered to score in the corner. Farrell’s conversion gave Saracens a 12-0 lead.

It was a scrum penalty via the replacement front row that gave the home crowd life midway through the second half as Bath kicked in the Saracens 22 and after some desperate goal-line defence, Du Toit plunged over.

Itoje further blotted his copybook, conceding a needless penalty at the breakdown that allowed Bath to once again kick to the corner. Tom Dunn threw to the tail where the Bath maul started motoring and the unlikely figure of Redpath came up with the ball. Momentum was all on Bath’s side.

But in a flash some gorgeous hands from Cinti, Farrell and Tompkins set Theo Dan thundering into the middle of the pitch. The replacement hooker kicked ahead and while Redpath gathered he was tackled over his own tryline for a five-metre scrum.

Again they cycled through the phrases before Bath were penalised for offside and in front of the posts Farrell was never going to miss.