Bath 21 Northampton Saints 41: Tom Vickers' review and player ratings

They feared their rotated team would fail to trouble a full-strength Bath in their own backyard.

But at the end of the 80 minutes, those Saints fans would probably have paid 10 times what they shelled out to witness the simply stunning spectacle they enjoyed.

Because the black, green and gold didn’t just trouble Bath, they tore them to shreds.

Even the 20-point margin didn’t seem to reflect this performance as Saints sizzled from start to finish.

They could easily have had a few more tries and had it not been for some strange interventions from the officials, they would have done.

This was a showing of physicality, of belief, of substance and, of course, style.

It was surely the best performance of any team in England’s top division so far this season.

And it was surely one of the greatest showings in recent – and perhaps far longer than that – Saints history.

They left Danilo Fischetti, Alex Coles, JJ van der Mescht, Josh Kemeny, Tom Pearson, Alex Mitchell, Fin Smith, Fraser Dingwall and George Furbank at home.

And they were without the injured Tom West, Tom Lockett, Tom Litchfield and Curtis Langdon, who has yet to play a single minute this season due to recovery from shoulder surgery.

Yet they were still far too good for Bath.

This may have been a rotated team, but it wasn’t a rubbish team.

This was a talented group that still included two Lions stars, Henry Pollock and Tommy Freeman, who showed their class by sharing five tries between them on the night.

While Bath, the current champions, struggled for inspiration, Saints were saturated with it.

They had creativity across the park, wreaking havoc each time they got the ball.

They kept Bath out of their 22 for long periods and even managed to stop them in that area of the field on a couple of occasions.

But in truth, much of the match, particularly during a sensational second half, was played in Bath territory.

Saints went 21-14 down and then went on to score 27 unanswered points.

It had echoes of the last time they won at Bath, back in April 2022, when they roared back from 19 points down to win 36-31.

But while that was a late rally, this was far more than that.

This was just reward for a complete performance from a complete squad.

Saints’ coaches have built such depth and that comes from the trust they show in each player and the belief they instill them with.

They could have feared this would be another Bristol away, but instead they put that experience to good use and ultimately put it to bed.

They refused to be overawed by Bath.

And that lack of anxiety shone through in a showing that saw Saints play with wild abandon.

It was yet another performance from this group that should make everyone who follows them so grateful that they do.

And the supporters who followed them to The Rec on Saturday night certainly won’t be thinking about how much they paid to do so now.

How they rated…

GEORGE HENDY – absolutely electric. His assist for Henry Pollock’s try summed up his counter-attacking ability and his footwork kept Bath on their toes… 10

EDOARDO TODARO – looks so at home on the big stage already. Would have had a try had the referee not blown his whistle while he was running it in, and he was such a threat throughout the game while doing well defensively, too… 10

TOMMY FREEMAN – yet another hat-trick for the England and Lions hero. World class, pure class, just class. Rugby is more interesting when he’s on the field as he so often delivers so much magic. Though his one crossfield kick may have set him back in his bid to become a fly-half one day… 10

RORY HUTCHINSON – back from a nasty shin injury, he was constantly creating something. The centre was strong and skillful as he helped to pull the strings in a stellar attacking performance… 10

JAMES RAMM – came back from his two-week ban and looked like he’d never been away. Bounced and spun his way out of attempted tackles and his athleticism and aerial ability was exceptional once again… 10

ANTHONY BELLEAU – it’s unfair to call this guy a back-up fly-half because he’s much better than that. Stepped in after not playing for some time but showed no signs of rust as he delivered another excellent showing in a Saints shirt… 10

ARCHIE MCPARLAND – CHRON STAR MAN – has had some tough assignments during the formative stages of his Saints career, and this was another one. But how well he handled it. Easily his best performance yet as he scored a try, made breaks and also held firm defensively. A real coming-of-age performance and surely Freeman and Pollock won’t mind him getting the star man award on this occasion as he truly deserved acclaim for what he did in the champions’ backyard… 10

MANNY IYOGUN – a massive shift from the loosehead prop, who just kept firing into collisions, time after time. His engine will be the envy of many props and he stayed strong throughout… 10

ROBBIE SMITH – an excellent showing from the hooker as he kept the lineout steady and powered around the field, showing some good handling and some good ability in attack… 10

TREVOR DAVISON – big Trev delivered another big display for his team, fronting up against a tough Bath pack and helping to lay the foundations for a huge win… 10

ED PROWSE – sin-binning aside, this was a fantastic showing from the lock who not only made his physicality count but who also showcased some excellent deceptive passing… 10

CHUNYA MUNGA – surely his best showing as a Saint. He was all-action here, producing a towering display that included some excellent lineout work to keep the momentum with Saints… 10

CALLUM CHICK – what a tackle it was on Henry Arundell to win the ball back before Hendy set up Pollock for the score. He helped Saints stay composed after things went against them and he leads with words and actions… 10

SAM GRAHAM – every Saints fan will have been delighted to see this man powering forward time after time as he made the most of his game time, showing his determination to impress and earn more minutes… 10

HENRY POLLOCK – what more needs to be said about this guy? Already an outstanding talent at the age of just 20, he did it all again here. His pace to keep up with Hendy and score was no surprise but still superb, and he seemed to be everywhere… 10