Following Bath’s 68-10 win over Saracens, here are our winners and losers from a top-of-the-table Premiership clash at the Rec. 

Winners

Finn Russell

Just an absolute masterclass from the Scottish fly-half, as he steered Bath to a monumental win over Saracens. Russell was right at the heart of Bath’s fast attack today at the Rec with some classy touches, but crucially they were at the right time to get his side on the front-foot. He notched one assist in the win but would have had another if not for Liam Williams’ illegal intervention. There’s a reason he’s the man leading the charge to start at 10 for the Lions.

Thomas du Toit

Yet again proving why many consider him the best prop in the world right now with another blockbuster performance. He was just as solid as ever in the scrum, giving Phil Brantingham a pretty tough time, and he also made himself busy around the park. In typical fashion, he crossed for a try too.

Ben Spencer

The England scrum-half has surely got himself back in Steve Borthwick’s good books with his showing against Saracens. His combination with Finn Russell was so crucial in getting his side on the front-foot but crucially he added another layer of creativity inside his Scottish teammate. Spencer grabbed two assists of his own and came up with some beautiful plays to set chances in motion too.

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Will Muir

A great performance from the winger, who has taken another major step towards the England squad for the upcoming Six Nations. His three tries went a long way to cementing the victory, but he also made himself incredibly busy around the park with some great carries. As usual, he was also superb in the air.

Alfie Barbeary

It’s been a tough year for the number eight, who has had his injury blights and concussion issues, but today was a brilliant reminder of what he can do when on song. His powerful carries were so crucial in winning the battle up-front, and he ended the game with 18 carries in total. It also seemed he got the better of opposite number Ben Earl too which is a big statement ahead of the Six Nations squad announcement.

Ollie Lawrence

He had a pretty tough Autumn in a white jersey, but he looked reborn in Blue, Black and White today. He still had that smash-and-bash that Borthwick wants him to provide, but again he showed why he should be deployed in that wider 13 channel as he was able to charge through the Saracens defence with ease. As a result, he was a standout for his side and sent a good reminder to the England boss of how he should be used moving forward.

Losers

Saracens

This was just a very un-Saracens-like performance from start to finish. Yes, they found themselves a man down for 75 minutes of the game – courtesy of a Liam Williams yellow and then a Toby Knight red – but yet they were just second-best in most parts of the game which isn’t what we’re used to seeing. In attack, they lacked their usual clinical nature and blew a couple of golden opportunities in the red-zone. Defence was also a huge issue throughout though, as they fell to their heaviest-ever Premiership defeat, and that will really worry Mark McCall. Bath just managed to break the gainline with virtually every carry and whenever they got into the 22 it was almost inevitable they would score. So, so poor from the Londoners today.

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Liam Williams

Put his side on the back-foot early doors as his swat into touch cost his side a penalty try and resulted in him spending 10 minutes on the naughty step. He later came off with an injury.

Toby Knight

Just as Liam Williams was about to return to the pitch, flanker Toby Knight copped a red card for a high tackle on Ollie Lawrence. In an era of controversial cardings, there was no arguing with this one as the back-rower put in a big high tackle on the England centre.

Injured Saracens

The defeat was heavy in itself, but it also proved costly on the injury front as four players were taken off with knock. Samoan skipper Theo McFarland was withdrawn through a lower limb injury, youngster Tobias Elliott looked to have dislocated his finger, Nick Isikewe also looked to have picked up an arm issue and Liam Williams was also taken off with an issue. All three men have played big roles for Saracens this year, so Mark McCall will be sweating over their fitness now.

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