Freeman grabs a hat-trick as Saints secure incredibly special win at Bath

The black, green and gold rested several key men but still had far too much for the team who went into the game as the table-toppers and Gallagher PREM holders.

Saints bossed the encounter for long periods and produced some sensational rugby, scoring six tries in total.

It could even have been more had Saints not been the victim of some tough calls, but those were to matter not as 'Shoe Army' echoed around The Rec at full-time.

It meant Phil Dowson's men finished 2025 the way they started it: by beating Bath.

And it showed just how much squad depth Saints now possess as they left out the likes of Alex Coles, Alex Mitchell and Fin Smith yet were able to produce a simply incredible display away from home.

Bath had been big favourites, but it was clear from the off that the black, green and gold refused to be written off.

Saints made a flying start to the match as they booted a penalty to the corner and worked a tidy lineout before Freeman ran a fantastic line to cut through Bath and score.

Anthony Belleau converted well and it looked like Saints had soon scored a quickfire second after Rory Hutchinson released Edoardo Todaro, who sprinted home from halfway.

But touch judge Hamish Smales felt there had been a knock-on from Callum Chick in the build-up and referee Craig Maxwell-Keys blew his whistle before Todaro dotted down, meaning it could not be reviewed.

Had it been looked at again, it may well have been seen that Joe Cokanasiga had knocked the ball back instead of Chick palming it forward.

Bath rubbed salt in the wounds as they scored soon after through tighthead prop Thomas du Toit, with Finn Russell's conversion levelling the scores.

Saints suffered another blow soon after as Ed Prowse was shown a yellow card for a high tackle on Miles Reid, meaning Bath could kick to the corner and turn the screw.

They did just that as they set up a big drive, with hooker Tom Dunn profiting off the back of it to give his team the lead.

Russell converted to make it 14-7 and Saints needed to find a way to turn the tables as their early momentum had quickly subsided.

Archie McParland provided the spark as he showed excellent awareness to slip through the Bath defence and score, just before Prowse returned from the sin bin.

Belleau converted and the scores were level, but Bath immediately piled on the pressure, only to be met with a wall of Saints resistance.

Todaro did some brilliant work to get back and stop Bath kicking a loose ball ahead, before Sam Underhill provided some defensive excellence at the other end, stopping Todaro from running the ball in on the left wing.

Saints thought they'd scored soon after though as Freeman went charging towards the line and the ball was picked up for Chick to score.

But the referee ruled the try out for a pull back on Beno Obano, even though the Bath prop had his back to play and wouldn't have played any part in stopping the score.

It meant the scores remained level at the end of a half in which Saints could feel hard done by.

Bath added to the frustration early in the second half as they made the most of a couple of penalties in Saints' 22, cranking up the heat through their forwards before du Toit powered over for his second try of the game.

Russell converted but Saints responded superbly, and they thought they had scored when Pollock released Hutchinson, who stretched out an arm to seemingly score.

However, TMO Dan Jones again intervened and he and the referee decided Hutchinson had actually grounded the ball short of the line.

Saints didn’t let it affect them though, and they did score again when Freeman weaved his way through in fantastic fashion.

Belleau converted with aplomb and Saints then stuck the knife in, hitting Bath on the break after Chick had done well to stop Henry Arundell on the left wing.

The ball came loose, George Hendy picked it up and raced away, with Pollock able to keep up with him and then gather the pass to score.

Belleau converted and Bath were now the ones chasing the game.

Hooker Dan Frost was then sin-binned just after coming on for the hosts as his deliberate knock-on stopped Saints in their tracks close to the home line.

But the black, green and gold wouldn't be denied as Pollock went over from the back of a splintered maul.

Belleau was unable to convert, leaving Saints 12 points up.

Bath tried to mount an immediate response, but Saints held strong before making their way upfield again, only to be punished at the breakdown with a harsh decision.

However, Saints kept coming and they earned a penalty of their own at the breakdown after Bath went off their feet, allowing Belleau to extend the lead.

Saints weren't done though as they just kept putting together brilliant moves, with Freeman completing his hat-trick as he showcased his special finishing ability once again.

Belleau missed the conversion, but it wasn't going to matter as Saints now led by an eye-watering 20 points.

Bath wanted a bonus-point effort of their own but Ollie Lawrence knocked on close to the Saints line to end that hope before Dowson’s men kept the ball and put the seal on a fantastic late Christmas present.

Bath: 15 Tom de Glanville (Santiago Carreras 57); 14 Joe Cokanasiga, 13 Ollie Lawrence, 12 Max Ojomoh (Chris Harris 31), 11 Henry Arundell; 10 Finn Russell, 9 Ben Spencer (Tom Carr-Smith 72); 1 Beno Obano (Francois van Wyk 57), 2 Tom Dunn (Dan Frost 65), 3 Thomas du Toit (Archie Griffin 65); 4 Quinn Roux (Ted Hill 56), 5 Ross Molony; 6 Josh Bayliss (Guy Pepper 56), 7 Sam Underhill, 8 Miles Reid.

Saints: 15 George Hendy; 14 Edoardo Todaro, 13 Tommy Freeman, 12 Rory Hutchinson (Henry Lumley 77), 11 James Ramm (Ollie Sleightholme 74); 10 Anthony Belleau, 9 Archie McParland (Tom James 77); 1 Emmanuel Iyogun (Oliver 76), 2 Robbie Smith (Henry Walker 68), 3 Trevor Davison (Elliot Millar Mills 62); 4 Ed Prowse (Archie Benson 76), 5 Chunya Munga; 6 Callum Chick (c), 7 Sam Graham, 8 Henry Pollock (Fyn Brown 76).

Referee: Craig Maxwell-Keys