By King Zak
October 4 2014

Saracens unbeaten start this season came to a disappointing, if not surprising, end on Friday night in Bath. The hosts were deserved winners and it would be churlish to suggest otherwise. They have already shown this season that they are serious title contenders. They possess a strong forward pack and, given time and space, a devastating back division - combing pace, power and guile in equal measure.

The game started, and continued, at a frenetic pace. Sarries made the early running and were given the first scoring opportunity when Bath were penalised at the scrummage. Hodgson's kick from 40 metres struck the right hand upright and Bath were able to clear. There was a fairly strong cross-field wind that caused problems for goalkickers all evening - it also caused problems for Alex Goode midway through the first half. The excellent George Ford hoisted a 'bomb' which was always drifting away from Goode on the breeze; it bounced and Sarries were in immediate danger. Taylor attempted to regain the ball but only succeeded in knocking it towards Eastmond. He made good yardage before off loading to Jonathan Joseph who managed to ground the ball despite Ashton's last ditch tackle. The score was possibly slightly against the run of play but merely highlighted the threat Bath pose from open play. Ford added the conversion and Bath were 7-0 ahead. Sarries continued to probe, largely through the efforts of Billy Vunipola. He was, it seemed, a one man army; continually taking the ball to the opposition and bursting through the defensive line. Unfortunately, his efforts were not backed up by his back row colleagues. It seems to me that a line up of Vunipola, Brown and Burger is somewhat imbalanced.

Vunipola offers fantastic 'go forward', Burger will tackle anything that comes his way and Brown is very workman like. But I don't think they work together particularly well. They're not able to slow opposition ball down enough to allow Burger to be truly effective. Billy is the only one who offers any 'ball in hand' threat'  and Brown's work is diminished by the lack of support at the breakdown. I'm inclined to think that this selection rather summed up Saracens attitude to the game - 'we'll give it a good go, but we're not too bothered if we lose'. This may seem odd to some supporters but I think it is already pretty evident that Bath, Northampton and Saracens are some way ahead of the rest of the bunch. All three have hit the season running and possess sufficient strength in depth to maintain their start throughout the season. Several  Bath supporters were concerned about the 'mental strength' of their team, but I believe this is a significantly stronger Bath team all round than we have seen for some time.

Their one weakness, despite him successfully extending Bath's lead with a well struck penalty, is the goal kicking of Ford. His performance from the tee on Friday evening made Ryan Lamb look like Chris Paterson!! It's a shame, because in all other facets of the game he was excellent but he will need to significantly improve his goal-kicking if he is to be a serious threat to the England 10 jersey.

Sarries did  reduce the deficit to 10-6 through an Alex Goode penalty (despite the PA announcing it was Hodgson!) and finally managed to threaten the Bath try line. A well worked break down the right wing saw Hodgson close in on the line. Unfortunately for Sarries, his attempted pass inside to (Taylor?) Was intercepted by a Bath defender and the moment was lost. It was a game that ebbed and flowed quite pleasantly ( to the neutral observer at least) but Bath always posed a greater threat through Eastmond, Joseph, Woodburn and the irrepressible Rokoduguni. 

Time and again, Bath were able to make big yardage from deep within their own half. Barritt may not be missed as an attacking threat but his defensive capabilities certainly are. 

The final action of the first half saw Bath on the attack. As they moved the ball towards the left wing, Ashton gambled and went for the intercept. It seemed to me that he had nearly succeeded in snatching the ball but referee Garner deemed it a deliberate knock on and sent the winger to the sin bin. Ford, having missed three previous attempts, slotted the 3 points to give Bath a lead of 13-6 at the break

The half time score line could have been significantly worse for Saracens, Ford having missed 3 penalty attempts. One had struck the post but the other two were badly pulled to the left - an issue that continued to affect his goal kicking in the second period

Sarries were more of a threat in the second half but could never quite stretch the resolute Bath defence to breaking point. It has been a feature of Bath's play so far this season in their ability to turn defence into attack; even from deep in their own half.

It was this speed of thought and accuracy of pass that brought them their second try. Turn over ball in midfield was quickly worked to the left by Ford. The impressive Joseph made the crucial break with an electrifying turn of pace before passing inside to Eastmond who forced his way over the line. Ford missed the conversion but Bath were comfortably in control with a 12 point lead.

Sarries patience, and Vunipola's belligerence, were finally rewarded on the hour mark when Wyles crashed through two would be tacklers to score.

The American is Saracens ‘Mr Reliable’ but he is no Brad Barritt when it comes to defending the 12 channel. It was largely through his area that Bath were able to make their big breaks. Goode missed the conversion, but Sarries were back within a score and the Bath fans around us in the Riverside Terrace were becoming nervous. Another Ford penalty and a couple more misses seemed to do little to ease their concerns! Sarries continued to huff and puff; - Goode became the third kicker on the evening to see a penalty bounce back off the upright - but it was Bath who still carried the greater threat through their swift counter attack. Only the reactions of firstly Hodgson and then Tompkins prevented Bath from adding to their try tally. 

Sarries continued to probe, Vunipola a constant threat, but were never able to make a telling break. Ultimately it was a deserved and impressive win for Bath. It also did little to shake my belief that these two teams along with Northampton Saints will be three of the top four come May. Bath have faced Tigers, Saints & Sarries in successive games, winning two and coming very close in the other - they are serious title contenders and the imminent arrival of Sam Burgess may be just the final piece in an impressive jigsaw

As for Sarries, they'll get over this defeat quickly and move on to next week's home fixture against Gloucester before the season really starts with games against Clermont & Munster in the European competition. There is much to look forward to for both sets of supporters!

Bath Rugby: 15. Gavin Henson, 14. Semesa Rokoduguni, 13. Jonathan Joseph, 12. Kyle Eastmond, 11. Olly Wodburn; 10. George Ford, 9. Chris Cook; 1. Paul James, 2. Rob Webber 3. David Wilson, 4. Stuart Hooper ©, 5. Dave Attwood, 6. Alafoti Fa'osiliva, 7. Guy Mercer, 8. Leroy Houston

Replacements: 16. Ross Batty, 17. Nick Auterac, 18. Henry Thomas, 19. Dominic Day, 20. David Sisi, 21. Micky Young, 22. Ollie Devoto, 23. Anthony Watson

Saracens: 15. Alex Goode; 14. Chris Ashton, 13. Duncan Taylor, 12. Chris Wyles, 11. David Strettle; 10. Charlie Hodgson, 9. Neil de Kock; 1. Rhys Gill, 2. Jamie George, 3. James Johnston, 4. George Kruis, 5. Alistair Hargreaves ©, 6. Kelly Brown, 7. Jacques Burger, 8. Billy Vunipola. Replacements; 16. Scott Spurling, 17. Richard Barrington, 18. Kieran Longbottom, 19. Jim Hamilton, 20. Jackson Wray, 21. Richard Wigglesworth, 22. Nick Tompkins, 23. Ben Ransom.

Referee: Greg Garner