Saracens thrash Bath – Aviva Premiership match report
Bath were served well by the Sarries in a clash at Vicarage Road on Sunday with a 20-9 beating and Saracens almost confirmed their Aviva Premiership home Semi Final. These last few matches didn’t make a huge impact on the tables, but cemented the positions
of a few bottom line and leading teams.
Bath had the only nine points through the boots of Butch James and all their optimism for getting a playoff spot were drained down the hole. Saracens are on a nine point lead on the Aviva Premiership table from Gloucester and seem to be keeping the distance
till the tournament ends. The bonus point was gifted by David Strettle’s try and Alex Goode’s five penalties.
Leicester Tigers, who are leading the table are just three points ahead Saracens and things might get slippery in the last rounds for Tigers, because of Saracens newly found pride and composure. Sarries’ title credentials will be tested in the upcoming fixtures
that will change their fate till the next season.
Against Bath, Saracens were well focused and to the point when it came to scrums and line-outs. David Strettle did the trick for Saracens, giving them the boost for the rest of the tournament.
Although, it was Bath who scored fist and slotted penalty with a positive start, but the Sarries’ takeover was quick and hard. They were gifted the penalty against Matt Stevens, which was first missed by James. The second time when he got the penalty, he
kicked the ball dead, giving no advantage to his side. Goode opened the score for Saracens after slotting a penalty, after referee took notice of Bath’s front row foul advance at the resultant scrum.
Saracens enforced the pressure on Bath when the blitz from Sarries picked up pace and Chris Whyles went over for the kill. James Short took his chances and stormed through, but was prevented from causing damage as he was chipped off by Owen Farrell.
Meanwhile, Goode slotted another penalty keeping the scores up for Saracens. Later on, Bath was given another hock when Nigel Owen’s whistle indicated another penalty for Saracens due to an offside. Saracens kept the possession through the major portion
of first half, but the last ten minutes turned out to be Bath’s only time of game play. Though, they couldn’t score a try, but a penalty from James gave them something on the scoreboard before the interval. James missed the next penalty wide out, defying them
another boost on scoreboard.
On the other hand, Strettle kept on attacking Bath and made a major run through their defense in the last few minutes of first half and profited from it. The end of the first half and the start of second was similar, as Strettle made another burst and picked
the right areas to run through, but his time around he was tackled when he lacked support from his team mates.
Bath made a few comebacks during the game, which were commented as Ugly by a few analysts, but Bath, was deprived of possession every time. James and Goode kept on exchanging penalties, but Saracens kept the dominance and defense intact. Shontayne Hape,
the center, who just returned from England’s Six Nations duty saved a possible try from Bath’s Bra Barritt, confirming Saracens victory.
After two Goode penalties, Saracens score was 20-9. Bath went on for a last minute try, but the effort from Matt Banhan was cancelled by referee, when he spotted an infringement. Bath’s hopes for a bonus point were denied badly.
Tags: