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Northampton keep their nerve to hold off Bath and claim place in top four
By PA
Northampton Saints held their nerve to secure a hard-fought 24-18 win over Bath.
The Saints had moved into a nine-point lead in the second period after George Hendy added to first-half tries from Tom Pearson and Alex Coles.
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But Bath refused to go quietly and they pushed hard until a Sam Graham breakdown penalty sealed the win for the Saints.
Bath had headed to the cinch Stadium at Franklin’s Gardens with a rotated team that was without star fly-half Finn Russell.
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Fin Smith put Northampton ahead inside the opening three minutes as he landed a long-range penalty.
Orlando Bailey soon levelled the scores at the other end, but he missed another chance soon after, taking too long to line his penalty attempt up, leading to Saints being handed a scrum.
Northampton soon punished the away fly-half, setting up a fine move that resulted in Tom James firing a fantastic flat pass to Pearson, who broke the line and scored.
Smith converted to make it 10-3, but Bath reacted well and grew into the game, producing a patient period of pressure that led to Thomas du Toit charging over for a try. Bailey converted to level the scores.
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Northampton refused to be deterred and James was looking razor-sharp. The home scrum-half opened the door for the Saints’ second try, bamboozling Bath with his footwork before offloading for Coles to score.
Smith added the extras but Bath responded just before the break, working the ball well down the left before Tom de Glanville gathered and charged over the line. Bailey could not convert, leaving Northampton two points up at the interval.
Northampton did not waste much time adding to that in the second period. A clever lineout move resulted in Curtis Langdon setting up wing Hendy, who cruised in for his side’s third try of the game.
Smith converted to make it 24-15 and Northampton soon had some defensive work to do, winning a big penalty at a Bath scrum five metres from the home line.
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Bath turned to their bench, bringing the likes of Charlie Ewels, Alfie Barbeary and Ben Spencer into the game.
Northampton did have a couple of spells in the Bath half, but failed to add to their lead, meaning the away side were well in the game.
And the hosts were having to work hard in defence as pressure came their way on a fairly regular basis, with Spencer having an impact.
Bath were able to cut the gap to just six points when Ethan Waller was penalised, Spencer slotting the penalty with ease.
Tension was rising in the home ranks with 10 minutes to go and Northampton were clinging on, with only a Max Ojomoh knock-on preventing Bath from scoring.
Bath kept coming and coming, looking ominous, but Graham got over the ball to spark celebrations among the home fans as their side moved into the top four.
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