Saracens defeat bad tempered Bath in Aviva Premiership
By Robert Mulhern
Last Updated: 01/04/16 11:21pm
Bath lost Anthony Watson to a red card as Saracens sauntered to a 30-10 win in an ill-tempered Aviva Premiership encounter at the Rec.
Tries from Will Fraser, substitute Mike Ellery and a double from the returning Chris Ashton secured victory and an eight-point lead at the top of the table long before the game entered the final quarter.
By then Bath were down to 13 men having lost Anthony Watson to a red card and scrum-half Chris Cook to a yellow.
Neither had a game-changing impact - Bath weren't in the contest and they struggled to meet the tempo set by Saracens and match the accuracy of their execution.
The Premiership leaders would score some sublime team tries in a game where their leaders again delivered with interest.
Owen Farrell and Billy Vunipola were totemic while Alex Goode was at the centre of all that the visitors did well.
And while Ashton's two tries sent boos ringing around the Rec, the winger looked to relish the theatre that accompanied his scoring return after a 10-week lay-off.
The contest opened at break-neck speed with both sides running from deep and building uninterrupted phases.
But Saracens seized the initiative when a loose Cook clearance ended in a try for openside flanker Fraser after Marcelo Bosch went close.
Farrell added the conversion and while Saracens' momentum was slowed by some scrum penalties, the stall was only temporary. Farrell slotted two penalties to extend the lead to 13-0 and Bath were desperate in their defence and inaccurate in their execution.
With just over half-an-hour played, Mike Ellery came in on the end of a sweeping, slickly handled move to touch down and make it 18-0.
George Ford's converted penalty on the cusp of half-time held little promise, but Bath did show signs of improvement in the third quarter. Unfortunately, their lineout continued to struggle and then Watson was sent to the line.
His collision with Goode - when the full-back was in the air - was more clumsy than calculated but there was to be no clemency.
He, and the home faithful, were audibly aggrieved by the red card but Cook could have few complaints with his yellow after a tip-tackle on Michael Rhodes just minutes later.
Neither had any bearing on the outcome. Saracens had already established a winning rhythm and the beat just became that bit easier.
Ashton touched down when Bath were reduced to 13 players and while Leroy Houston struck back with a try to reduce the deficit to 23-10, the outcome was never in doubt.
Billy Vunipola, Goode, Fraser and the rest were in no mood to ease up. They combined for a stunning team score on 69 minutes that ended with an inside pass to Ashton who dotted down against a din of dissent.
It was that type of game and that type of winning performance.
