Northampton Saints claimed a last gasp 35-34 win at Franklins Gardens on Sunday after Bath's impressive comeback fell short in another Premiership thriller.

Northampton raced into a 19-0 lead with tries from Josh Kemeny, Fraser Dingwall and James Ramm, but Bath struck back with Joe Cokanasiga crossing as well as Orlando Bailey, but a George Hendy try before halftime meant the hosts led 26-12.

The visitors continued their trend of strong second-half displayers with three tries after the break with Will Stuart, Max Ojomoh, and Cokanasiga all crossing to give Bath the lead, but three penalties from Fin Smith, including one at the depth, gave Northampton a late win.

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Rugby writer Sam Jess takes a closer look at the individual performances from the Bath Rugby players...

15 Orlando Bailey - 7

In his first start in the Premiership this season at full-back, Bailey was caught slightly out of position covering the backfield and was beaten easily for Saint's opening try. It turned out to be a tough outing for Bailey, as he was not in the right place again. This time, Fin Smith collected his own chip kick before the Saints scored their second. A brighter moment came when he fired onto a great Russell pass to finish a beautiful score once he stepped past three defenders. The full-back certainly warmed into the game and found his groove. He ended up having a very strong second half, both in covering the field and in attack, but it was a costly start.

14 Joe Cokanasiga - 7

The winger's handling skills under the highball have yet to improve, with Northampton's Fin Smith exploiting it more than once, but the winger did have a few bright moments once the ball found his grasp, running in for a brace of tries including a 40m dash which showed his speed.

13 Ollie Lawrence - 7

It was a mixed game for the centre as in defence, he looked in no man's land on a couple of occasions, but he did grab a neat turnover in the second half and made some much better-attacking inroads as the game grew on.

12 Max Ojomoh - 7

In his first league start of the season, Ojomoh was a rabbit in headlights defensively, with him and his centre partner Lawrence giving Saints far to much time and space. A much better final 60 minutes helped keep Northampton at bay; the centre also ran a great line for his try after Underhill's offload.

11 Will Muir - 5

After a hat-trick last week, Muir did not have the best of starts, going for an intercept inside his own half and missing it, giving Saints space on the outside, which they exploited with ease to end up scoring through Kemeny. A hamstring injury on twenty minutes will be a big concern for the winger and van Graan.

10 Finn Russell - 6

Missed a tough covering tackle for Saints' first tyr but was able to show his magic from a scrum in the Northampton 22 with a lovely catch of a pass behind him as Bath showed a great set-piece attacking move. Another moment of magic came when he delivered a wonderful pass to set up Bailey's try. A few poor kicks allowed Northampton easy field position as well as staying within three points at the depth.

9 Ben Spencer - 6

The captain was below par against the Champions with several box kicks falling short with, one of them costing Bath dearly, with Saint's getting a penalty and scoring from Spencer's poor exit, but he improved as the game went on but was not at his best.

1 Beno Obano - 6

It was an ok display from the prop but far from his best

2 Tom Dunn - 8

A physical outing from the Bath hooker, with some monster hits and carries to drag Bath back into a game they had no right to be in, but the lineout failed to be its consistent best

3 Will Stuart - 7

Returning to the starting line up, Stuart was sluggish around the park and conceded a sloppy penalty for holding on deep in the Saints' half, but a try just after the break put Bath back in the contest.

4 Quinn Roux - 7

A decent display but not at his best as the lineout struggled at times.

5 Ross Molony - 6

It was a solid display without anything amazing from the Irish lock, with a few decent hits and work at the breakdown, but the lineout was a bit of an issue.

6 Guy Pepper - N/A

It was a tough outing for Pepper as he was replaced only 10 minutes into the game with a leg injury.

7 Miles Reid - 7

It was a slow start for the flanker, but he grew into the game with a turnover. Reid's attacking game has come on leaps and bounds under Johann van Graan, but today, he was slightly off the pace with a few missed chances getting away from him. A charge down on a Rory Hutchinson kick after a strong team defensive effort proved a pivotal moment as he managed to collect the bouncing ball to feed Cokanasiga for Bath's fifth try. Up ended by Fin Smith with a scoring chance on.

8 Alfie Barbeary - 7

After one of his best performances last time out, Barbeary managed an early turnover when his side was under plenty of pressure, some brutal carries and linebreaks, and the eight was one of the brighter players on the pitching during a sluggish start collectively by the visitors, but he could have passed it to Spencer for a certain try. It was an eventful game which saw play almost the full eighty due to Coetzee's head injury moments after coming onto the pitch.

Replacements:

16 Kepu Tuipulotu - 8

On for the last few moments, the young hooker nailed his only lineout and looked to have snatched a winning turnover, but the ref did not reward him.

17 Francois van Wyk - 6

Gave power to the Bath side but could not find it in the scrum.

18 Thomas du Toit - 8

The South African made an immediate impact with a crucial turnover and helped his side almost claim a stunning win.

19 Charlie Ewels - 8

The lock was pretty strong coming onto the field, made some decent impacts, and helped improve the lineout.

20 Sam Underhill - 7

Coming on due to Will Muir's injury, Underhill made some immediate impacts with his power, giving Bath a much better platform. Some neat hands from the flanker allowed Ojomoh to score the bonus-point try. However, the England star cost his side dearly, hanging around a late breakdown in his own half, giving Smith the chance to kick the winner.

21 Louis Schreuder - N/A

22 Josh Bayliss - 8

On earlier than expected, Bayliss was tasked with turning the ship around from a sinking hole, but his came took an unexpected turn when Will Muir went off as Bayliss went from the flanks to the wing and almost scored. His impact was strong, but his early arrival meant he was not able to provide the late impact intended.

23 Jaco Coetzee - N/A

Nightmare for Coetzee as he was subbed only seconds after coming on.