It wasn't as though the opportunities for a fourth try didn't exist. The most glaring being a fantastic break and run by James Downey. With both Fodes and Jamie Elliott outside him, Downey was clearly confused by the wide open spaces in front of him. He is a crash ball man, he isn't used to having to pass. And so he didn't. A clear overlap and guaranteed try was swallowed up by a tackle and the ball was lost.
Going down to 13 men didn't help either. Another match where the ref had a big impact, with four yellow cards being given, first off were two to Bath - during the first one the Saints actually managed to get 10 points, somewhat unusual for the Saints managing to capitalise on a man advantage - and then two in quick succession against the Saints meaning that for about 9 minutes we only had two men on the pitch. The Saints defence during this stage was incredible, and a large part of the time was actually spent camped on the Bath try line.
Pisi was a derserving man of the match. Once again he showed a great sidestep, after catching a neat chip from Lamby, to open up the Bath defence and a deft offload to Woody saw the number 7 go in for a straight forward try. In addition, Easy's defence was a rock, with some immense tackles put in. Put Easy and Courtney on the pitch at the same time and the opposition know that they are going to be hammered.
It was good to see both Sarge and Dowse back - injury and suspension respectively - and they showed that they were hungry to make an impact. Vaseline again had a solid game, catching high ball, tackling, and showing some wonderful footwork from a standing start to evade a number of Bath players and creat the first try.
The failure to score the try in the second try wasn't only down to the Saints. Bath changed their game plan when they highlighted how the Saints were getting through. Before half time the chips from Lamby were finding gaps and turning the Bath defence on its heels, effectively breaking them down. The gaps were closed in the second half but Lamby continued attempting the chips, there was no obvious plan B to turn to.
The Saints are sometimes guilty of trying too hard and trying to be too clever. Rather than stick to the basics they start to throw te ball around with adventurous offlods. When they come true then they are great, and they are what makes the team exciting to watch. However there are times where it would be better to bring it down a notch and keep working the phases. The skills are there, the ability is there, the mental position is possibly lacking at the moment. the team seem to freeze at times, and it is especially oticeable in big games or when the fourth try is up for grabs.
When all is said and done though, a win was a great early Christmas present.
Match Details
- Half Time 22-3
- Attendance 13,475
- Referee David Rose
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