Freeman bags another hat-trick against Bath as Smith wins it late on for Saints

Having lost to a late Finn Russell conversion in the Investec Champions Cup quarter-final at The Rec 15 days earlier, it was Saints' turn to inflict late heartache as Smith's penalty gave them the full five points in the battle of the Gallagher PREM's current top two and the previous two winners of the competition.

The reigning champions, who sent a heavily rotated team to the Gardens, fought all the way and they continually bounced back from the concession of tries to put the pressure on Saints, who were thankful to Tommy Freeman for his second hat-trick in as many league matches against Bath.

Johann van Graan's side never led in the match but they did level on a couple of occasions during the second half as Saints’ nerves started to jangle.

However, Smith kept his composure to make sure of a win that pushes Saints further towards a top-two spot and a home play-off semi-final ahead of the trip to third-placed Leicester Tigers on May 9.

The black, green and gold had initially come flying out of the blocks against Bath, firing some lovely passes around on the edge of the away 22 before finding the penetration for Smith to race over the line.

Smith easily added the extras and it was 7-0 inside the opening four minutes, with Bath already being hurried up by referee Luke Pearce as they took their time to restart the game.

However, the away side soon found a way to respond as an excellent break from scrum-half Bernard van der Linde sparked panic in the Saints defence, forcing Tom Litchfield to infringe, earning the centre a spell in the sin bin.

Bath immediately made the most of their extra man as, with a penalty coming, they fired the ball to the right, where wing Louie Hennessey was waiting to walk the ball in.

Ciaran Donoghue converted well from the right touchline, but Bath suffered a blow as van der Linde was forced off with an injury, bringing Tom Carr-Smith into the game inside the opening 12 minutes, meaning the away side had just one back left on the bench for the remainder of the game.

Bath then lost a man of their own to the sin bin as Will Muir was yellow carded for a deliberate knock-on with Saints on the attack inside the away 22.

Saints, as Bath had, quickly made the most of the opposition having a man sent to the sin bin as, with a penalty coming, Alex Mitchell released Freeman to finish with ease on the right.

Smith converted and Saints held a 14-7 lead as Litchfield returned to the field to give his team a man advantage.

It didn't take long for the 15 men to punish the 14 as Saints showcased some incredible handling, moving the ball left at the speed of light for Ollie Sleightholme to score.

Smith converted, with the help of the right post, and the black, green and gold led 21-7 as Muir returned to the field for Bath.

Saints were unable to build on their lead and they let Bath back into the game as the away side worked the ball well down the right, allowing No.8 Arthur Green to score.

Donoghue converted well and Bath looked hungry to respond immediately, with Chris Harris' crossfield kick seemingly opening the door, but Saints turned the ball over on their own line and launched a counter-attack.

Sleightholme was stopped by Josh Bayliss on the left, but the home side recycled the ball and Fraser Dingwall took a big hit to allow Freeman to bag the bonus-point try.

Smith missed the conversion, but Saints looked like they had scored again soon after as they celebrated Manny Iyogun's finish. However, it was ruled out as Iyogun was deemed to have knocked on.

Saints had one final chance before the break as Pollock took a quick tap penalty and kicked ahead, with Josh Kemeny in hot pursuit, but the flanker was just beaten to the ball by Bath hooker Dan Frost, who just about did enough to get possession before Kemeny could ground it.

That meant the black, green and gold held a 12-point lead at the break, but they would have felt it could have been so much more.

Saints changed their entire front row at half-time but they made a poor start to the second half, failing to deal with the restart and inviting pressure.

Bath made the most of the possession as Hennessey fired a pass inside from the right for the onrushing Carr-Smith to score.

Donoghue converted, with his kick kissing the inside of the left post on the way through as Bath cut the gap to just five points, giving them renewed hope.

Saints immediately sought to give themselves some breathing space again, getting back on the front foot and earning a penalty, which they kicked to the corner.

A nicely worked move got the ball into the hands of Sleightholme and he showed great strength and footwork to find his way over the line.

Smith missed the conversion and Bath again issued a quick response as they worked the ball for Tom de Glanville to easily dot down.

Donoghue missed the conversion but Bath were now sensing a real chance to take the lead, sending on six replacements at the same time as Saints looked like they were wobbling.

The hosts had a chance to steady the ship when they kicked to the corner after winning a scrum penalty, but Bath resisted the drive and got the ball back.

After Saints lost a lineout on halfway, more chances came for Bath as they landed a fine 50:22 and then turned on the power up front, allowing Archie Griffin to score.

Donoghue missed the chance to put his team ahead for the first time as he sent his conversion wide, but Bath were level and Saints were struggling to show any level of ball security.

It was turning into a real dogfight, one Bath were relishing as they put Saints in dangerous areas with their kicking game.

But Freeman delivered some international class just when his team needed it, combining superbly with Litchfield down the left for a magical try.

Smith held his nerve to convert but Saints suffered a blow almost immediately as JJ van der Mescht had to come off injured after clearing from inside his own half.

Bath yet again responded, piling the pressure on from close range, allowing Kepu Tuipulotu to power over.

Donoghue used up the shot clock and converted to level the scores again with three minutes to go.

But there was still time for more drama as Saints made one final surge and Enoch Opoku-Gyamfu hit Pollock with a high tackle, handing the home side a penalty.

Smith stepped up and landed it to spark celebrations in the stands as Saints savoured claiming a dramatic win.

Saints: 15 George Hendy; 14 Tommy Freeman, 13 Tom Litchfield, 12 Fraser Dingwall (c), 11 Ollie Sleightholme (Rory Hutchinson 70); 10 Fin Smith, 9 Alex Mitchell (Archie McParland 51); 1 Emmanuel Iyogun (Danilo Fischetti 40), 2 Craig Wright (Robbie Smith 40), 3 Luke Green (Cleopas Kundiona 40 (Luke Green 65)); 4 Tom Lockett, 5 Ed Prowse (JJ van der Mescht 55 (Chunya Munga 76)); 6 Josh Kemeny (Callum Chick 57), 7 Sam Graham, 8 Henry Pollock.

Bath: 15 Tom de Glanville; 14 Louie Hennessey, 13 Chris Harris (Sam Winters 79), 12 Will Butt, 11 Will Muir; 10 Ciaran O'Donoghue, 9 Bernard van der Linde (Tom Carr-Smith 12); 1 Scott Kirk (Francois van Wyk 51), 2 Dan Frost (Kepu Tuipulotu 51), 3 Kieran Verden (Archie Griffin 51); 4 Ewan Richards (Enoch Opoku-Gyamfu 51), 5 Ross Molony; 6 Josh Bayliss (Sam Underhill 51), 7 Miles Reid (c), 8 Arthur Green (Ted Hill 51).

Referee: Luke Pearce