Bath avenged their Premiership final defeat by Northampton Saints with a thumping five-try bonus point victory in a lively opening game at The Rec.
Johann van Graan’s team pushed clear of Saints in an impressive first half, scoring three tries through Joe Cokanasiga, Ted Hill and Ben Spencer, only countered by Josh Kemeny’s score for Northampton.
In a bruising encounter, defending champions Saints appeared to be caught out by changes to the offside rule, and the so-called ‘Dupont’s Law’, which put them on the back foot.
Despite an improved second-half performance, and fly-half Fin Smith’s accurate kicking, Ollie Lawrence’s opportunistic try, and a late score from Jaco Coetzee, confirmed Bath’s morale-boosting win.
Van Graan played down the importance of this final rematch in the build up to the game, saying the only pressure his side felt was internal.
Bath’s physicality and relentlessness suggested the hurt from that narrow defeat was still there, and they made the perfect start after Cokanasiga barged through two tackles to dive over in the right corner inside ten minutes.
Kemeny levelled the scores briefly, before a wonderful free-flowing move was finished by Bath’s Ted Hill under the posts.
Ben Spencer’s quick-thinking after a line-out maul allowed him to dart for the line to add a third try before half-time.
Northampton were punished twice, during key exchanges, for not retreating during kicking battles between the two sides.
On this evidence, the closing of the ‘Dupont’s Law’ loophole, in which players standing in an offside position from a kick could be played on as soon as the opposition catcher took five steps, may cause difficulties in the opening weekend of the Premiership.
Bath had little territory and possession in the opening stages of the second half, with Northampton pushing to get back into the game. But Van Graan’s side sealed the victory after Ollie Lawrence picked up on a loose ball to give them the bonus point.
After Kemeny was sin-binned for a cynical side entry to a maul, back-rower Coetzee stormed over in the final five minutes to score the hosts’ fifth try.
It sealed a memorable victory for Bath, and will give supporters plenty of hope they can go one better this season.