Opposition view: 'It was a phenomenal game', says Bath boss van Graan
Bath boss Johann van Graan reflected on 'a phenomenal game' after seeing his side edged out by Saints on Sunday.
Fin Smith's penalty with the final kick of an enthralling encounter earned the black, green and gold a bonus-point 35-34 victory at cinch Stadium at Franklin's Gardens.
Saints had flown into a 19-0 lead early on and were 26-12 up by the break.
But table-toppers Bath battled back to lead twice late on before Smith had the final say with his nerveless kick.
And van Graan said: “It was a phenomenal game and certainly an emotional roller coaster, but we’ll just have to take our two points and move on.
“Saints had so much speed and accuracy early on and converted well in that opening 20 minutes, but then our power got us back into the game.
“The guys are obviously gutted as they fought so hard, but we showed we are tough to beat and if we go anywhere in the world we’ll fight all the way.
“We showed our ability to bounce back when we lost Guy (Pepper) and Will (Muir) to hamstring injuries early on and then later Jaco Coetzee with a head injury.”