Ollie Barkley delivered another fly-half masterclass as Zurich Premiership
leaders Bath cruised to a comfortable victory against struggling Saracens on Saturday afternoon.
Barkley created two of his side's three tries with delicate kicks behind
onrushing defenders and he added three conversions and a penalty for good
measure.
However, the Premiership leaders will be concerned at the loss of England star
Mike Tindall. The centre was carried off with a suspected broken leg after he
opened the scoring.
An Andrew Higgins touchdown and a penalty try in the second half put the
visitors in the clear and the only time Bath were genuinely threatened was when
Frenchman Thomas Castaignede poached a magnificent solo score five minutes from
time.
The task facing Saracens had looked ominous from the outset with key man
Richard Hill absent recovering from the broken nose inflicted by Troy Flavell
while captaining England against the New Zealand Barbarians.
Bath, on the other hand, had welcomed back skipper Danny Grewcock and Tindall
from England duty to the team that has suffered only one league defeat this
term.
A dazzling early break from Darragh O'Mahony created the field position for
Castaignede to edge the home side in front with a ninth-minute penalty from long
range.
But Bath's response was instant. A perfect restart forced Saracens to concede
a lineout on their own 22 and Barkley threaded the ball past the Saracens
midfield for Tindall to regather and score under the posts.
It was the centre's last involvement in the game. He was treated for an
injury sustained as he touched down while Barkley was converting and was
stretchered off with Kevin Maggs taking over in midfield.
The rest of the half saw Saracens rely on isolated resistance with
counter-attacks from O'Mahony and Kyran Bracken's scavenging behind their
struggling lineout, while Castaignede ambitiously tried to add width and bring
Sevens star Richard Haughton into the game.
They coughed up too much possession, though, and Bath's narrower game earned a
26th-minute penalty for Barkley which edged them into a 10-3 advantage.
Castaignede saw a drop-goal attempt drift wide before missing with a
long-range penalty awarded after a late tackle on Haughton by Higgins.
And any attempt at digging in was damaged by dodgy defending which allowed
Higgins to strike with the second half only a minute old.
Centre Alex Crockett - on for hamstring injury-victim Matt Perry - expertly
gathered a long ball from Barkley and Higgins surged away to break three tackles
and twist over in the right-hand corner.
Although the conversion left Saracens trailing by 14 points, it was the cue
for their best spell of the game and their first try after 56 minutes.
Simon Raiwalui and Taine Randell led the way in denting the Bath midfield to
create the opening wide on the right that saw Paul Bailey sprint in from 20
metres and Castaignede convert.
The Frenchman missed on the hour with a penalty which would have hauled his
side within striking distance of their first win in the league since beating
Premiership punchbags Rotherham in November.
And the balance tilted back in Bath's favour in the 61st minute when they were
awarded a penalty try by referee Martin Fox, who adjudged that Barkley was
tripped by former team-mate Robbie Kydd on the line as he chased his own kick
ahead.
Castaignede led a late flurry when he jinked through a cluster of defenders to
score after Bath had messed up defensive lineout in the right-hand corner.
But he missed what should have been a straightforward conversion and then hit
the post with the final kick of the match as he attempted to earn his side a
bonus point they probably deserved for their second-half resistance.
Teams
Saracens: Haughton, Cech, Johnston, Bailey, O'Mahony,
Castaignede, Bracken, Sparks, Ibanez, Visagie, Raiwalui,
Codling, Chesney, B. Russell, Randell.
Replacements: Kydd for Haughton (50),
Bergamaschi for Sparks (67), R. Russell for Ibanez (67),
Roques for Chesney (71).
Not Used: Skirving, Williams, Winnan.
Tries: Bailey, Castaignede.
Cons: Castaignede.
Pens: Castaignede.
Bath: Perry, Human, A. Higgins, Tindall, Danielli, Barkley,
Wood, Flatman, Humphreys, Delve, Borthwick, Grewcock, Beattie,
Lipman, Fea'unati.
Replacements: Crockett for Perry (34), Maggs for Tindall (14),
Mears for Humphreys (55), Barnes for Delve (77),
Fidler for Borthwick (74), Scaysbrook for Lipman (73).
Not Used: Martens.
Tries: Tindall, A. Higgins, Penalty.
Cons: Barkley 3.
Pens: Barkley.
Att: 11,477
Ref: Martin Fox (RFU).
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