The Northampton win was slightly spoilt in the second half as Bath gallantly fought for a comeback against a Saints side that lost physicality after the break. Saints captain, Dylan Hartley said “We've got to be more clinical and close these games out and get that bonus point.”

He added “We might have shocked Bath with three early tries but they certainly were never going to roll over and they put the pressure on us but overall we’re pretty happy with our performance.”

Barkley got the scoreboard rolling for Bath after an error strewn 12 minutes from both sides with just a single strong attack coming from Bath that was fumbled and cleared away by the Northampton defence.

Northampton replied in spectacular style with two tries. Vasily Artemyev sparked the first for Phil Dowson whilst a chip from Lamb was gathered by George Pisi and a perfectly timed offload to Tom Wood produced another five points for the Saints. Lamb could only convert one but added a penalty later on to provide Northampton with a 15 -3 lead.

Jamie Elliott, who signed a new two year contract with Northampton earlier in the week, was next to score having evaded tackle from Guy Mercer on the line. Lamb converted and further extended the gap to 22 points to 3.

Northampton sought the bonus point try before the break but the Bath defence tightened up and just prevented the elusive score. George Pisi certainly seemed the talisman for the Saints in the first half, providing Tom Wood’s try and sparking chances from nothing. Meanwhile, Bath were lacklustre and had few chances throughout the first period of the game.

Pisi produced another strong attack five minutes into the second half, then Sorenson had a dash for the line and the most promising attempt came from Tom Wood. The only thing preventing Wood from scoring was Stephen Donald who didn’t release him and was sent to the sinbin for his actions.

But Northampton were struck with problems of their own when referee, David Rose, handed out two yellow cards to the Saints within 5 minutes meaning both Samu Manoa and James Downey were sent to the bin.

Northampton felt the impact after a Bath try was followed by two unforced kicking errors from Lamb causing the Saints to miss out on 6 points. For the remainder of the half and throughout the final quarter, Bath impressed slightly more than the first period of the game but Northampton didn't as they struggled to make many smooth attacks.

Myler eventually ended a match that saw Bath fail to complete a comeback and Northampton slump in the second half but despite a game lacking in any real brilliance, Northampton were offered a Christmas gift of 4 points whilst Bath would return to the West Country with nothing but improvements to be made. 

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