Du Toit brace in vain as Saints stun Bath to go top
WRAP: Tommy Freeman scored three tries as Northampton stunned Bath with a 41-21 victory that took them above the English champions into first place in the Prem on Saturday.
Freeman’s unstoppable display inspired Northampton’s six-try masterclass, with Bath only able to touch down three times in response.
Henry Pollock, an England teammate of Freeman, bagged two tries, and Archie McParland got the other to complete the rout.
Thomas du Toit nabbed two tries for Bat,h and Tom Dunn also scored.
It was second-placed Bath’s first home defeat since losing to La Rochelle in the European Champions Cup on December 6, 2024.
The hosts did not even manage a bonus point as their 11-game home winning streak came to an end.
Third-placed Bristol hit back from a 10-point deficit and shrugged off a late red card for Joe Batley in their 36-27 win over Newcastle at Ashton Gate.
Newcastle led by 10 points early in the second half, but Bristol’s introduction of Ellis Genge turned the game.
Bristol scored six tries, two from Louis Rees-Zammit, with Matias Moroni, Gabriel Oghre, Noah Heward and Kaveti Ravouvou also touching down.
Tom Jordan added two conversions, and James Williams kicked one.
Newcastle secured their first league point of the season with four tries of their own.
Oli Spencer scored two, and Murray McCallum and Ollie Leatherbarrow bagged the others, while Brett Connon kicked a penalty and two conversions.
Saracens ended their run of three successive Prem defeats as they defeated Gloucester 30-21 at Kingsholm.
Theo McFarland scored two of Saracens’ four tries, while Theo Dan and Ivan van Zyl also touched down.
Owen Farrell kicked two penalties and two conversions as Saracens strengthened their play-off push.
Gloucester had first-half tries from Freddie Thomas and Arthur Clark, plus a late Will Knight effort, with Ross Byrne converting all three scores, but they slipped to a seventh loss in eight league matches this term.
Bristol Bears 36-27 Newcastle Red Bulls
Scorers
For Bristol Bears:
Tries: Rees-Zammit 2, Moroni, Heward, Ravouvou, Oghre
Cons: Jordan 2, Williams
For Newcastle Red Bulls:
Tries: McCallum, Spencer, Leatherbarrow, Spencer
Cons: Connon 2
Pens: Connon 2
Yellow card: Kalaveti Ravouvou (Bristol Bears,77)
Red card: Joe Batley (Bristol Bears, 65′)
Teams
Bristol Bears: 15 Louis Rees-Zammit, 14 Noah Heward, 13 Matias Moroni, 12 James Williams, 11 Kalaveti Ravouvou, 10 Tom Jordan, 9 Harry Randall, 8 Viliame Mata, 7 Fitz Harding (captain), 6 Joe Owen, 5 Joe Batley, 4 George Taylor, 3 George Kloska, 2 Harry Thacker, 1 Max Lahiff
Replacements: 16 Gabriel Oghre, 17 Ellis Genge, 18 Jimmy Halliwell, 19 Pedro Rubiolo, 20 Luka Ivanishvili, 21 Sam Wolstenholme, 22 Sam Worsley, 23 Rich Lane
Newcastle Red Bulls: 15 Ethan Grayson, 14 Oliver Spencer, 13 Alex Hearle, 12 Sammy Arnold, 11 Elliott Obatoyinbo, 10 Brett Connon, 9 Simon Benitez Cruz, 8 Ollie Leatherbarrow, 7 Tom Christie, 6 Tom Gordon, 5 Sebastian de Chaves, 4 Oscar Usher, 3 Murray McCallum, 2 George McGuigan, 1 Adam Brocklebank
Replacements: 16 Ollie Fletcher, 17 Connor Hancock, 18 Richard Palframan, 19 Finn Baker, 20 Amanaki Lelei Mafi, 21 James Elliott, 22 Boeta Chamberlain, 23 Cammy Hutchison
Referee: George Selwood
Assistant referees: Luke Pearce, John Meredith
TMO: Andrew Jackson
Gloucester 21-30 Saracens
Scorers
For Gloucester:
Tries: Thomas, Clark, Knight
Cons: Byrne 3
For Saracens:
Tries: Dan, McFarland 2, Van Zyl
Cons: Farrell 2
Pens: Farrell 2
Teams
Gloucester: 15 Charlie Atkinson, 14 Ben Loader, 13 Will Butler, 12 Seb Atkinson (vice-captain), 11 Ollie Thorley, 10 Ross Byrne, 9 Tomos Williams (captain), 8 Jack Clement, 7 Lewis Ludlow, 6 James Venter, 5 Arthur Clark (vice-captain), 4 Freddie Thomas, 3 Afo Fasogbon, 2 Jack Innard, 1 Val Rapava Ruskin
Replacements: 16 George Knowles, 17 Ciaran Knight, 18 Jamal Ford-Robinson, 19 Cam Jordan, 20 Harry Taylor, 21 Mikey Austin, 22 Will Knight, 23 Josh Hathaway
Saracens: 15 Elliot Daly, 14 Rotimi Segun, 13 Lucio Cinti, 12 Nick Tompkins, 11 Max Malins, 10 Owen Farrell, 9 Ivan Van Zyl (captain), 8 Tom Willis, 7 Andy Onyeama-Christie, 6 Theo McFarland, 5 Hugh Tizard, 4 Nick Isiekwe, 3 Marcus Street, 2 Theo Dan, 1 Rhys Carre
Replacements: 16 Jamie George, 17 Eroni Mawi, 18 Tietie Tuimauga, 19 Juan Martin Gonzalez, 20 Ben Earl, 21 Charlie Bracken, 22 Fergus Burke, Olly Hartley
Referee: Adam Leal
Assistant referees: Karl Dickson, Veryan Boscawen
TMO: Stuart Terheege
Bath 21-41 Northampton Saints
Scorers
For Bath:
Tries: Du Toit 2, Dunn
Cons: Russell 3
For Northampton Saints:
Tries: Freeman 3, McParland, Pollock 2
Cons: Belleau 5
Pen: Belleau
Teams
Bath: 15 Tom de Glanville, 14 Joe Cokanasiga, 13 Ollie Lawrence, 12 Max Ojomoh, 11 Henry Arundell, 10 Finn Russell, 9 Ben Spencer, 8 Miles Reid, 7 Sam Underhill, 6 Josh Bayliss, 5 Ross Molony, 4 Quinn Roux, 3 Thomas du Toit, 2 Tom Dunn, 1 Beno Obano
Replacements: 16 Dan Frost, 17 Francois van Wyk, 18 Archie Griffin, 19 Ted Hill, 20 Guy Pepper, 21 Tom Carr-Smith, 22 Santi Carreras, 23 Chris Harris
Northampton Saints: 15 George Hendy, 14 Edoardo Todaro, 13 Tommy Freeman, 12 Rory Hutchinson, 11 James Ramm, 10 Anthony Belleau, 9 Archie McParlan, 8 Henry Pollock, 7 Sam Graham, 6 Callum Chick (captain), 5 Chunya Munga, 4 Ed Prowse, 3 Trevor Davison, 2 Robbie Smith, 1 Emmanuel Iyogun
Replacements: 16 Henry Walker, 17 Oliver Scola, 18 Elliot Millar Mills, 19 Archie Benson, 20 Fyn Brown, 21 Tom James, 22 Henry Lumley, 23 Ollie Sleightholme
Referee: Craig Maxwell-Keys
Assistant referees: Hamish Smales, Jonathan Healy
TMO: Dan Jones
