Aviva Premiership: Saracens 19-13 Bath
By PA Sport
Last Updated: 01/02/16 10:55am
Saracens scored 19 unanswered points as they defeated Bath 19-13 in the Aviva Premiership on Saturday.
Bath dominated the first half, with Saracens' poor discipline punished by the boot of Rhys Priestland and a defensive lapse handed Tom Homer a try to give Bath a 13-0 lead at half-time.
But Saracens rallied in the second half at Allianz Park, with Charlie Hodgson slotting a pair of penalties before Schalk Brits drew the home side level with a try with 10 minutes remaining. Hodgson then slotted two further penalties to hand his side the win in impressive fashion.
It was a game played with plenty of passion from both sides, with tempers getting the better of some during the encounter. Francois Louw was influential for Bath at the breakdown, but a man-of-the-match performance from Maro Itoje kept Saracens in the game throughout, and it was his run that led to the Brits try.
The win keeps Saracens at the top of the Premiership table, while Bath still find themselves near the bottom.
Bath were lively from the off, and it looked as though they had gone over from a lineout drive, but after it was ruled out they had to settle for a penalty which Priestland knocked over.
Saracens nearly responded in the eighth minute as Duncan Taylor went over in the corner, but he was called back for a forward pass in the build-up by referee Dean Richards.
It was Bath who crossed the whitewash first as Homer picked an excellent line off debutant Dan Bowden after Bath's forwards got them on the front foot from a lineout. Priestland added the extras and slotted another penalty to give Bath a 13-0 lead at the break.
Saracens started the second half with far greater purpose and though Hodgson missed one penalty, he made up for it by nailing two inside the first 10 minutes after the break.
Priestland then missed a penalty from 35 metres out as the pressure started to build on Bath who were penalised far more than their opponents in the second period.
Itoje eventually broke Bath open after bursting down the right flank, and when Saracens recycled the ball, Brits surged through a gap with just enough reach to dot down to bring his side within two points. Hodgson's conversion was close to the upright, but went over to bring the sides level.
The fly-half then nudged Saracens ahead with seven minutes to go after Itoje made a menace of himself in the ruck, and added a further penalty in the 77th minute which sealed a victory that looked far off 40 minutes before.
