Bath 38 Northampton Saints 16: Tom Vickers' review and player ratings

In the build-up to the new campaign, plenty of pundits pencilled Bath in as title favourites, while stating champions Saints may struggle due to the amount of players they have lost from their Gallagher Premiership-winning side.

And so the 38-16 success for Bath seemed to endorse those claims for anyone who didn't, and maybe even some who did, watch the game.

However, did a little deeper and all may not be as it seems.

Because while Saints headed home with no points to show for their efforts, there was, in fact, plenty of reasons to be positive.

So often the black, green and gold have been left dejected by trips to The Rec, a ground where they rarely take anything but a beating.

So often their forward pack has crumbled in the face of a side who have seemed to be their kryptonite.

But, despite the summer departures of Alex Moon, Courtney Lawes and Lewis Ludlam, to name but a few, and the absence of the likes of Alex Coles and Temo Mayanavanua,

Saints actually went toe to toe with the Bath pack in the set piece on this occasion.

Bath got little traction and scrum time and from lineout drives until the game was won late on.

Saints were certainly not crushed by the weight of the home side on this occasion.

What let them down were key lapses at key times.

Credit to Bath because they came out of the blocks quicker, using their incredibly solid defence and more compact game plan to great effect.

Saints, an expansive side, often take some time to get into their stride at the start of a new season - they have only won on Premiership opening day once in the past five years, and that was the only time they have been at home in those fixtures.

So they should not be too down about the events of Friday night.

Especially because much of what caused them problems at The Rec was of their own making. Defensive lapses and silly, avoidable penalty concessions proved so vital at crucial times.

Bath scored one fine first-half try that was sandwiched between two that really should have been prevented.

And after the break, the black, green and gold delivered the most dominant 22 minutes you will probably see by any side away to Bath this season.

The home side simply could not get out of their own half, but their defence, which has been so impressive in recent matches against Saints, stood tall.

Bath are such a resilient side these days and they are so hard to penetrate.

It meant Saints only had two Fin Smith penalties to show for setting up camp in enemy territory during the formative stages of the second half.

James Ramm thought he'd scored and had it been at cinch Stadium at Franklin's Gardens he probably would have, but after several replays were shown on the big screen, the correct decision was reached and his effort was ruled out for a knock on as he tried to ground Smith's crossfield kick.

And after Smith landed his second penalty of the second half, Saints were hit with the ultimate sucker punch.

A ball came loose as George Furbank, who was so impressive at stages in this match, tried to run his team clear, it fell kindly for Bath and Ollie Lawrence scored the try that gave his side some hugely welcome breathing space after their lead had just been cut to five points.

And whereas Ramm’s disallowed try was replayed time and again, no such thing happened following the Lawrence score, which could easily have been ruled out for a knock-on in the tackle on Furbank.

That was a dagger to the heart of Saints and after they were punished for backchat after conceding a breakdown penalty, Finn Russell added three points that really finished things off for Bath.

Saints went to their bench to give young players and debutants minutes as the game drifted away.

With the likes of Coles, Mayanavanua, Alex Mitchell, Burger Odendaal and George Hendy missing, there just weren't the options available to turn the tide back in Saints' favour.

And so Bath kept piling on the pressure, threatening to rack up an eye-watering total in the closing stages.

But by then, the game was already well and truly gone and Saints were left to reflect on what might have been,

They were nowhere near at their sharpest, yet with 62 minutes gone, at the home of the team heavily tipped to win this season's title, they were just five points down and seemingly in complete control of the territory and possession battle.

It is so tough to win away from home in this league, and you really need the rub of the green.

Saints didn't get it, but they will also know that at times they didn't deserve it as their lapses and lack of discipline let Bath build a score.

That is not to take anything away from the home team.

They are fancied by many for a reason, as they have continued to build a strong squad that is extremely tough to beat, particularly at The Rec.

Saints would have dearly loved some first-game momentum to banish mentions of the players they have lost during the summer.

They didn't get it, but this is still a high quality Northampton team with huge amounts to be positive about.

They suffered a heavy defeat at Bath last season but still won the title.

And they will very much hope that the same can be said at the end of this campaign.

How they rated…

GEORGE FURBANK - the skipper looked very secure under the high ball and played a huge role in Saints' try on a night when he did all he could to try to put them in the ascendancy... 7

JAMES RAMM - the odd counter-attack aside, it was a frustrating night for the wing, who narrowly missed out on scoring a fine try in the corner as the ball escaped his grasp. Also got punished for switching off a bit in defence for the Ben Spencer score and was penalised for a needless push into touch... 4.5

FRASER DINGWALL - took some of the biggest hits you'll see, some of which did not look legal, but kept ploughing on, making tackle after tackle... 6

RORY HUTCHINSON - showed off his snake hips with one stunning counter, but wasn't able to have too much of a say aside from that... 5.5

OLLIE SLEIGHTHOLME - a rare quiet night for the electric wing as little seemed to happen down his side in attack and he was taken off with close to half an hour to go... 5

FIN SMITH - some very nice moments from the fly-half, including a role in the Josh Kemeny try and a kick to touch that put Bath under pressure, but Bath stopped Saints well... 6

TOM JAMES - like Saints, he got better at the start of the second half, having had the unenviable task of trying to stop Joe Cokanasiga once or twice in the first period. Made one nice break, but not an easy night for the Saints scrum-halves, who were hounded by Bath... 5.5

MANNY IYOGUN - nothing wrong with this man's performance as he looks to get the majority of game time at loosehead this season... 6

CURTIS LANGDON - did everything he could to try to set the tone for Saints, but Bath's defence was ferocious... 6

TREVOR DAVISON - won his side a penalty at a Bath scrum and did little wrong on a night when Saints did well at set piece time while he was on... 6

ANGUS SCOTT-YOUNG - kept his place in the Saints engine room and worked as hard as ever, with little reward... 6

CHUNYA MUNGA - Saints will hope this man can emerge as a key player this season and he didn't shy away from the hard graft... 6

JOSH KEMENY - a try and a yellow card on his competitive debut for Saints, which was extremely positive as he showed signs of his all-round ability... 6.5

TOM PEARSON - had a tough start but was a real menace when he got his hands on the ball, pushing Bath back with some strong surges... 6

SAM GRAHAM - looked hugely physical whenever he got the chance to grab possession but was replaced with half an hour to go... 6

Replacements (who played more than 20 minutes)

JUARNO AUGUSTUS (for Graham 50) - certainly added some go-forward for Saints and they will be so happy to have seen him get his first minutes since last season... 6.5

TOMMY FREEMAN (for Sleightholme 52) - like Sleightholme, he couldn't really get too involved in the game as Bath shut the door and then pushed on late in the game... 5

TOM WEST (for Iyogun 52) - not an easy game to make your debut in as the Bath pack started to get the wind in their sails late on... 5

CHRON STAR MAN - Ben Spencer (Bath)