Opposition view: Hooper happy with how Bath signed off against Saints

Bath held their nerve late on and eventually sealed a bonus-point 30-24 win as Josh Bayliss's breakaway try helped them to finish with a flourish.

The Rec later stood to applaud the men who will be exiting Bath this summer.

And Hooper was pleased his team got the job done as they booked their place in the Champions Cup for next season.

“That game summed it up really," Hooper said. "We had chances but didn’t take them. We fought our way back though and I never questioned the effort from the lads.

“Saturday was about the boys who are leaving the club, the five points that give us Champions (Cup) rugby next season – and saying goodbye to them in that manner.

“There are still so many positives we can look to from the season – the quality of players, the desire. That’s all there.

"We just need to make sure we can knit it all together and polish it a bit more.”

There was a turning point in the first half as Anthony Watson missed a big chance, which seemed to spark Saints into life as they flew into a half-time lead.

“That sort of thing that will always happen in the course of a season," Hooper said.

“But we went a little soft after that, a bit passive, and let them back in the game for two tries. What we’ve got to do is bounce back, get on to the next job and crack on.

“The lads will have five weeks off now – it’s two weeks for the staff. We’ll review and deal with the last bits of on-field recruitment.”