By Charlie Elliott
Northampton Saints edged out Bath in a nine-try thriller at Franklin Gardens, with a last-gasp Fin Smith penalty sealing a bonus point 35-34 victory over the league leaders for Saints.
The hosts started with intent and had the bonus point wrapped up in the first 40 minutes, with Josh Kemeny, Fraser Dingwall, James Ramm and George Hendy all going over before the break.
It wasn’t plain all sailing with their opponents staying in the game courtesy of Joe Cokanasiga and Orlando Bailey tries midway through the first period.
The comeback looked set to be completed for Bath, who got three tries only answered by a Fin Smith penalty in the second half and took a two-point lead with five minutes to go thanks to a Finn Russell penalty.
Smith managed to keep his cool with a well-kicked penalty after the 80-minute mark that gave a thrilling game the ending it deserved.
Match Action
It was all Saints to start off with, with four first-half tries securing the bonus point and a 14-point lead going into the break.
Rory Hutchinson created the first try after only a minute when he combined with Hendy to lob for Josh Kemeny to step inside and finish off nicely.
The hosts would not let up and Fin Smith chipped in behind and collected, before play was recycled and the ball ended up in the corner with Fraser Dingwall going over.
James Ramm weaved through the Bath defence following a lineout on halfway to ground to the right of the posts, as Smith got his second conversion of the game.
A Bath fightback followed as Cokanasiga dived over following a kickoff not dealt with by Saints, with Bailey giving the victors even more hope with a try that came after he cut back inside and reached over.
The hosts regained control and got their bonus point before the break, as a lovely Smith grubber kick found its way into the hands of Hendy to catch, spin and place down.
Although the score looked comfortable after the first half, Bath dominated the last portion of it but failed to capitalise before the break.
Second Half
A few Northampton injuries at the start of the half caused a bit of a shuffled pack and gave the away side a chance back in the game.
Bath prop Will Stuart kickstarted the revival after he grounded the ball following a close-range ruck. A charged-down clearance just under 10 minutes later then caused the ball to fall to Max Ojomah who finished tidily and closed the gap to three points.
The comeback was complete when Cokanasiga sprinted through to give his team their first lead of the match.
A penalty each for both sides had Bath two points ahead heading towards the final whistle, but Fin Smith stepped up and scored a penalty that sent Franklin Gardens into raptures and gave Saints their first win of 2025.
READ MORE: Premiership Team of the Week – Fin Smith and Tom Willis impress again to strengthen England cases
