Late heartbreak for Saints as they bow out of Champions Cup at Bath

It was the first time in the entire match that Bath had led as Saints had flown out of the blocks and at one point went 35-14 up.

But the home side just would not go away and after Henry Pollock was sin-binned in the closing stages, Ted Hill went over under the posts, allowing Finn Russell to win it with the simple conversion.

Saints were left shattered, having given everything they had, losing several players to injury, with Curtis Langdon and Tom Pearson among them as they both had to go off in the first half.

The black, green and gold will now be tasked with regrouping as they currently top the Gallagher PREM and have a tough set of league matches coming up, including next week's trip to Exeter Chiefs and a quick renewal of rivalries with Bath before the end of the month.

Saints had headed to The Rec buoyed by memories of their big 41-21 win at Bath in December, and they started this match in similar flying style.

Phil Dowson's men put immediate pressure on Bath, forcing Miles Reid to kill the ball at the breakdown, earning the No.8 a very early yellow card.

Saints immediately set about trying to make the most of their man advantage, and they took the lead when Pollock powered over for the opening score of the match.

A large section of away fans celebrated in one corner of The Rec, and Fin Smith easily added the extras to make it 7-0 inside three minutes.

Saints were soon going over again as a sublime pass from Archie McParland and some typically brilliant running from Tommy Freeman opened the door for Fraser Dingwall to score.

Smith again converted, but after Bath won a couple of quick penalties inside the Saints half, they powered over through Tom Dunn from a five-metre tap and go.

Russell converted to cut the deficit in half as the home fans celebrated a score that was a real morale boost for their side.

Saints were soon at the home door again though, piecing together another magical score that was finished by Tom Lockett on the right wing.

Smith converted superbly, but Saints lost Langdon to what appeared to be a wrist injury, bringing Craig Wright into the action.

And as they had after scoring their second try, Saints soon gave away a penalty, presenting Bath with another big chance to kick the ball to the corner.

Lockett got up to steal the lineout and Saints cleared.

The black, green and gold were soon flying forward again as Dingwall reacted quickest to a charge-down and flew away, moving the ball before McParland delivered a fantastic final pass under pressure for Josh Kemeny to dive over.

Smith converted to make it 28-7, but again Bath got the chance to pile more pressure on Saints after being given a cheap penalty in the away half.

Bath got a huge slice of luck as Lockett got a hand on the lineout, only to see the ball bounce loose, allowing Russell to kick ahead and dive on the ball to score.

Russell converted and Saints suffered another injury blow as Pearson was forced off with what appeared to be an arm injury that he desperately tried to battle through.

Bath lost Beno Obano to injury soon after and Saints quickly pushed on, with Ollie Sleightholme showing super-human strength to hammer his way over the line on his 100th Saints appearance.

Smith converted but again Saints saw the ball slip from their grasp to invite Bath back in almost immediately.

And the home side made them pay as Russell engineered a score for the onrushing Henry Arundell.

Russell converted and the gap was down to 14 points with seven minutes to go in a frantic first half.

Freeman thought he'd scored after running from inside his own half to dot down after intercepting a long Russell pass, but referee Andrew Brace brought it back for a Bath penalty.

The home side cranked up the heat again, scoring through former Saints prop Francois van Wyk, who went over from close range.

Russell sent the conversion wide, but the teams headed in at half-time with Bath just nine points behind.

Bath had been 10 points down at the break in the previous week's win against Saracens, so the deficit at half-time was never going to deflate them.

But Saints added to their lead early in the second half as Smith slotted a penalty and both sides then sent on forward replacements in a bid to up power battle.

Saints wasted a big chance to add more points to their tally as they took a quick tap that didn't work out before Bath broke and Freeman had to cover superbly, stopping Ben Spencer in the corner.

But after JJ van der Mescht was sent to the sin bin, Bath worked their way over, with Kepu Tuipulotu powering over after a big lineout drive from his side.

Russell converted and the home fans were now really in the game, lifting the noise levels.

Saints sent Alex Mitchell on in place of McParland with 21 minutes to go.

Smith tried to find Sleightholme on the left with a crossfield kick, but it went agonisingly wide of his grasp and into touch.

But Bath lost the lineout, allowing Saints to apply some pressure, earning them a penalty, which Smith kicked from in front of the posts.

But Bath just kept responding, winning key penalties in Saints territory to get them back in the game.

Russell took the chance to notch a penalty that quickly cancelled out the Smith effort, meaning the gap was down the just five points with 12 minutes still to play.

Saints had a chance on the left but Bath did well to scramble and force the knock-on.

Bath were soon back on the attack and Pollock infringed, earning him a yellow card, to the delight of the home fans, who were on their feet celebrating loudly as the England star left the field.

Bath sensed their chance, and they took it as Hill went over as his side's relentless late pressure told.

Russell easily converted to notch the two points that would win the match, and Bath saw it out inside their own half to put the seal on a memorable win for the hosts.

Bath: 15 Tom de Glanville (Santiago Carreras 52); 14 Henry Arundell, 13 Ollie Lawrence, 12 Cameron Redpath, 11 Will Muir; 10 Finn Russell, 9 Ben Spencer (c) (Bernand van der Linde 75); 1 Beno Obano (Francois van Wyk 29), 2 Tom Dunn (Kepueli Tuipulotu 52), 3 Vilikesa Sela (Thomas du Toit 47); 4 Quinn Roux (Ted Hill 47), 5 Charlie Ewels; 6 Guy Pepper, 7 Sam Underhill (Alfie Barbeary 32), 8 Miles Reid.

Saints: 15 George Furbank (c); 14 Tommy Freeman, 13 Rory Hutchinson (Tom Litchfield 75), 12 Fraser Dingwall, 11 Ollie Sleightholme (George Hendy 65); 10 Fin Smith, 9 Archie McParland (Alex Mitchell 59); 1 Danilo Fischetti (Manny Iyogun 47), 2 Curtis Langdon (Craig Wright 16), 3 Cleopas Kundiona (Elliot Millar Mills 47); 4 Tom Lockett, 5 JJ Van Der Mescht (Ed Prowse 66); 6 Josh Kemeny, 7 Tom Pearson (Callum Chick 28), 8 Henry Pollock.

Referee: Andrew Brace (Ireland)