LONDON (Reuters) – Northampton Saints beat Bath 25-21 at Twickenham on Saturday to win their first Premiership title in a decade despite trailing in the dying minutes against 14-man opponents who dominated swathes of an intense final.
Scrumhalf Alex Mitchell broke Bath hearts with a late sniping score to clinch victory for Northampton, after Bath had battled into the lead after their prop Beno Obano was sent off early in the game for a high tackle.
Northampton had taken an the lead through tries from wingers Tommy Freeman and Ollie Sleightholme, and seemed set to march to the title following the sending-off before Bath put in a second-half performance for the ages to keep it close.
Prop Thomas du Toit had given Bath hope just before the break, barrelling over from short range to drag the deficit back to 15-10 after Finn Russell nailed the touchline conversion.
Bath dominated the second half, their snarling energy in the tackle fouling the gears of the usually well-oiled Saints attack before it finally clicked in the final minutes to send Mitchell over for the winning score.
(Reporting by Lawrence White, editing by Ed Osmond)
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