Van Graan's 'Bomb squad' steer Bath to comeback win over Northampton

MATCH REPORT: Bath called on the power of their bench – including Thomas du Toit and Francois van Wyk – to swing the momentum and edge Northampton Saints in a thrilling 43-41 victory on Friday night.

Much like their clash with Saracens the previous week, Bath were once again forced to dig deep, producing a stirring comeback to book their place in the Champions Cup semifinals for the first time since 2006.

*To recap the action CLICK HERE!!!

Trailing 26-35 at the break, Bath delivered when it mattered most. Two second-half tries, combined with a disciplined defensive effort that restricted Northampton to just two Fin Smith penalties, proved decisive in a gripping contest that went down to the wire.

It was an unbelievable start for Northampton. They dominated the physical battle, and Bath’s ill-discipline did not help their cause as they went down to 14 men when Miles Reid was handed a yellow card for repeated infringements inside his own five metre line – and Saints capitalised immediately.

Sharp interplay released England sensation Henry Pollock, who powered over for the opening try, with Fin Smith converting for a 7-0 lead.

Northampton were in absolutely fine form. A perfectly delayed pass from Smith sent Tommy Freeman slicing through before he offloaded to Fraser Dingwall, who crossed under the posts for a second try inside six minutes.

Bath eventually found a foothold. A quick tap penalty led to hooker Tom Dunn crashing over, and Finn Russell narrowed the deficit to seven points after a horrendous start.

Reid was back on the field. But the Saints remained in control. Slick handling from the breakdown and a deft offload from Dingwall put Smith into space, with lock Tom Lockett finishing in the corner. Smith converted brilliantly from an acute angle to make it 21-7

Fortune also favoured Northampton. A loose bounce fell kindly for Rory Hutchinson, and quick support play allowed Josh Kemeny to dot down as the hosts surged further ahead.

Bath needed to score to keep themselves in the match, and some brilliant work by Russell, who showed his skills with a dribble, led to a score. 14–28.

Any momentum was short-lived. Ollie Sleightholme, celebrating his 100th appearance, fended off Cam Redpath to score, extending Northampton’s advantage to 35–14.

However, Bath had the final say of the half. Russell’s dummy opened space for Henry Arundell, who sprinted clear for their third try.

Moments later, with the clock ticking and Johan van Graan on the touchline, Francois van Wyk powered over the line to close the gap. Russell missed his first kick as the teams headed to the sheds with Saints leading 35–26 at the break.

Northampton struck first after the restart, Smith adding a penalty to push the lead to 38-26.

The contest turned when the Saints were reduced to 14 men, JJ van der Mescht was shown a yellow card. Bath capitalised, Kepu Tuipulotu driving over from a rolling maul to reignite the contest.

Smith and Russell exchanged penalties, leaving Northampton narpwing leading 41-36 in the battle.

Drama intensified when Pollock was sent to the sin bin for a breakdown infringement, leaving Saints vulnerable. Tuipulotu barged forward and appeared to score, but he spilt the ball on the line.

But Bath kept coming. Awarded a scrum penalty, they hammered away through multiple pick-and-goes before Ted Hill forced his way over to bring them within touching distance.

Russell added the easy conversion, sealing a dramatic victory for Bath in a pulsating encounter.

The scorers:

For Bath:
Tries: Dunn, Russell, Arundell, Van Wyk, Tuipulotu, Hill
Cons: Russell 5
Pen: Russell

For Northampton Saints:
Tries: Pollock, Dingwall, Lockett, Kemeny, Sleightholme
Cons: Smith 5
Pens: Smith 2

Yellow cards: Miles Reid (Bath, 2 – repeated infringement); JJ van der Mescht (Northampton Saints, 56 – repeated infringement); Henry Pollock (Northampton Saints, 73 – repeated infringement)

Teams

Bath: 15 Tom de Glanville, 14 Henry Arundell, 13 Ollie Lawrence, 12 Cameron Redpath, 11 Will Muir, 10 Finn Russell, 9 Ben Spencer (captain), 8 Miles Reid, 7 Sam Underhill, 6 Guy Pepper, 5 Charlie Ewels, 4 Quinn Roux, 3 Billy Sela, 2 Tom Dunn, 1 Beno Obano
Replacements: 16 Kepu Tuipulotu, 17 Francois van Wyk, 18 Thomas du Toit, 19 Ross Molony, 20 Ted Hill, 21 Bernard van der Linde, 22 Santiago Carreras, 23 Alfie Barbeary

Northampton Saints: 15 George Furbank (captain), 14 Tommy Freeman, 13 Rory Hutchinson, 12 Fraser Dingwall, 11 Ollie Sleightholme, 10 Fin Smith, 9 Archie McParland, 8 Henry Pollock, 7 Tom Pearson, 6 Josh Kemeny, 5 JJ van der Mescht, 4 Tom Lockett, 3 Cleopas Kundiona, 2 Curtis Langdon, 1 Danilo Fischetti
Replacements: 16 Craig Wright, 17 Emmanuel Iyogun, 18 Elliot Millar-Mills, 19 Ed Prowse, 20 Callum Chick, 21 Alex Mitchell, 22 Tom Litchfield, 23 George Hendy