The Aviva Premiership Final at Twickenham yesterday only seemed to go wrong for Bath and right for Saracens, but why? After a strong season Bath were in second place coming into the final competing for the cup against their fourth place rivals.
However it all seemed too much for Bath when it mattered; it was well known that one of the most important players for the game was going to be Anthony Watson. His game started strong only to be ended by the opposition, Owen Farrell, with a high tackle to the neck, causing concussion and resulting in a permanent substitution.
After this Bath fell apart at the seams, facing Saracens extremely strong defence and causing a number of knock-ons due to fumbled or confused passes resulting in too many chances being given away. Taking almost 30 minutes to get any points on the score board, George Ford kicked the penalty due to an obstruction by Andy Goode.
Mike Ford was visibly distressed as he watched every line go backwards, scrum collapse and every kick be sent back into Baths’ 22.
At half time the Bath fans and team alike were in despair as they trailed by 22 points, the score sitting at 25-3.
Soon after the whistle blew Bath were back in Saracens’ 22 after an extremely effective maul. All was going well until Joseph received a high tackle, the second one in the game and George Ford kicked the penalty points slowly closing the gap to 25-6.
The Bath team seemed to have sorted out their problems and won two more penalties but were stuck on Saracens five metre line.
Jonathan Joseph showed great skill and in partnership with Peter Stringer scored Bath their first try of the game much to the delight of the crowd. After having an extremely strong season for Bath and extraordinary appearance for England it was more than expected from him.
With the crowd backing them Bath were now sitting with 16 points to Sarries 25, which seemed doable in the second half. Souls were soon crushed by Farrell though as he reciprocated the addition of points and took the score up to 28.
To be fair to Saracens, they played their game very effectively, while the Bath fans did not enjoy the kicking style of game it resulted in points for the opposition team.
They out muscled and out played the ‘home’ team until the very end and secured themselves the Premiership title with much delight.
On the day Saracens were obviously the more standout team, they were more prepared and used their style of rugby to their advantage.
Bath played potentially one of the worst games of their season and it resulted in a loss on the day but ultimately second place for a team that haven’t been in the final since 2004.
Baths stint goes on unawarded as they face the next season with 19 years since their last title win.
Man of the Match was very cruelly awarded to Owen Farrell and the resounding boos from the Bath fans showed their stance due to the behaviour in the first half resulting in the downfall of Baths play.
As many will hope, Bath should face the next season ready and willing to reciprocate their fantastic plays this season and get themselves back into the fight for top position.
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