Mixed feelings for Saints

Phil Dowson celebrates his try

Northampton will head into Christmas with a win but will surely feel that they missed out on a bonus point against a woeful Bath.

Saints crossed for three tries in a little over 30 minutes and should have had plenty more, as they completely outplayed and outfought their visitors in a one-sided opening half.

But they failed to score a point in a disjointed second half and will be relieved to have held on for the win after being reduced to 13 men just past the hour.

Northampton had already bombed a couple of decent opportunities and saw Olly Barkley edge Bath ahead with a penalty, before Phil Dowson crossed for the opening try after 14 minutes.

A fine passing movement that swept first to the right wing and then across to the left was completed by James Downey's cut-out ball and Dowson crashed over.

Lamb missed the conversion but five minutes later his perfectly-weighted chip over the top was collected by George Pisi who put in Tom Wood by the posts.

The chip through again caught Bath out when Pisi's kick forced Nick Abendanon to hold on, earning Bath their first yellow card of the season and gifting Lamb three points.

A rout looked on the cards just past the half-hour mark when Barkley's kick out on the full gave Saints a lineout and after another chip over the top, Jamie Elliott was just able to juggle Lee Dickson's poor pass and hold on to score.

Barkley reduced the arrears to 22-6 with a penalty just after the break but when Stephen Donald was sin-binned for a professional foul moments later, the bonus point looked a certainty.

But Saints somehow lost their focus, while Bath finally found some competitive spirit.

Even then, Northampton were unlucky when Lamb's long bullett pass which put Elliott in at the corner was ruled forward.

Saints then endured a scare when Samu Manoa and then Downey were sin-binned within a minute of each other - Manoa for a lineout offence and Downey for deliberate offside.

The immediate consequence was seven points as Bath drove a scrum over and Francois Louw touched down.

Bath scented a comeback but Northampton were able to play almost the entire short-handed minutes inside the Bath 22, not least thanks to a couple of sloppy Bath penalties.

The four points were secure but Saints will feel it should have been five.