French star Thomas Castaignede kicked 23 points as Premiership leaders Saracens came from behind to comfortably beat Bath at the Recreation Ground.

Castaignede booted seven penalties and a conversion off Irish wing Darragh O'Mahony's first-half try, giving Saracens a perfect send-off into next Saturday's tough Heineken Cup opener against Toulouse in France.

Bath, desperate to bounce back from an abject performance at Northampton seven days ago, led 18-13 at half-time thanks to two tries from their former England wing Adedayo Adebayo.

But the 1998 European champions ultimately ran out of ideas as Saracens completed a thoroughly professional job by dominating the closing 20 minutes.

Kyran Bracken's men have now won six out of eight league games as the Premiership temporarily closes down for Europe, and on this evidence they will take some stopping as potential league champions.

They were made to work hard but perseverance proved a priceless asset as Castaignede gradually eroded Bath's advantage and centre Kevin Sorrell claimed an opportunist try to make a telling difference.

Bath, once again without their injured chief playmaker Mike Catt, looked devoid of ideas in the critical half-back battle, where Gareth Cooper and Shaun Berne struggled to make headway.

They began brightly, however, when skipper Ben Clarke sent Cooper clear on a searing 30-metre break after just nine minutes and American Dan Lyle's gridiron-style pass enabled Adebayo to sprint over.

Castaignede's opening successful penalty strikes edged Saracens ahead, only for Bath's England full-back Matt Perry - goal kicker in the absence of axed New Zealander Jon Preston - to slot a straightforward penalty opportunity.

It was typical of the game, though, that Saracens responded to everything Bath threw at them, and with home lock Steve Borthwick off the field sin-binned the visitors surged ahead when England centre prospect Ben Johnston and wing Dan Luger combined to send O'Mahony scuttling over.

Castaignede converted but Bath dominated the closing stages of a fast and furious opening period, Perry kicking another penalty before the full-back's incisive running created space for Adebayo's second touchdown, which Perry also converted to secure an 18-13 interval advantage.

The second half developed into a tit-for-tat struggle, Castaignede landing two more penalties either side of a Perry goal, but Sorrell's touchdown proved crucial, giving Saracens a six-point cushion entering the closing stages.

Bracken would have been delighted with how Saracens closed the game out, two further Castaignede penalties during stoppage time putting a 12-point margin between the sides.

Saracens look in good shape for a strong European challenge, even though their tough qualifying group includes Toulouse and Cardiff, but Bath now face a critical fortnight.

Following two successive league defeats Clarke must pick his players up to take on French visitors Castres next weekend, followed by a tricky trip to resurgent Welsh club Newport.

Although the Premiership's leading sides have managed to beat each other during an opening six-week flurry, Saracens look best equipped of them all, managing to combine forward power with quality three-quarter play, while possessing an outstanding goal-kicker in Castaignede.

Man of the match: Thomas Castaignede.

Teams

Bath:

Tries: A. Adebayo 2.

Cons: Perry.

Pens: Perry 3. Bath: Perry, Balshaw, Maggs, Tindall,

A. Adebayo, Berne,Cooper, Barnes, Regan, Mallett, Haag, Borthwick, G. Thomas, Clarke, Lyle.

Replacements: De Glanville for Tindall (71), Thirlby for A. Adebayo (76), Long for Regan (76),Horsman for Mallett (53).

Not Used: Preston, Gardiner, N. Thomas.Sin Bin: Borthwick (15).

Saracens:

Tries: O'Mahony, Sorrell.

Cons: Castaignede. Pens:

Castaignede 7. Saracens: Castaignede, O'Mahony, Johnson, Sorrell, Luger, McRae, Bracken, Flatman, Russell, Wallace, Grewcock, Murray, Hill, Chesney, Diprose.

Replacements: Sparg for Johnson (59), Cairns for Russell (78), Davison for Murray (76).

Not Used: Arasa, Roche, Phillips, Walshe.

Sin Bin: Flatman (31).

Att: 8,240

Ref: Ed Morrison (RFU).