‘Magnificent’ Finn Russell hailed as Bath defeat Northampton to secure home semi-final

Bath 43 Northampton 12

Bath director of rugby Johann van Graan hailed the contribution of Finn Russell after the Scotland and Lions fly-half steered his side to a home Premiership semi-final against Sale Sharks.

Van Graan told of his “incredible pride” at watching a club who had finished stone-cold last in the league just two years ago snatch second place by trouncing the one team to finish above them.

An emotional day in the West Country ended with the South African lavishing particular praise on Russell, whom he persuaded to join from Racing 92 last summer.

“Finn came here to Bath because he believed in the vision I set out,” said Van Graan. “I can’t speak highly enough of him. He’s one of the lads and he puts his body on the line.

“Honestly, what he went through the last few weeks to get back in this position is phenomenal. He had a significant injury at Exeter and literally day and night worked with our medical team to get back.

“The fact he played 60 minutes today, with some of the hits he put in on his own goal line, is absolute testament to the man. Nothing is ever a problem for him. He has a magnificent attitude.”

Not far behind Russell was half-back partner Ben Spencer, who scored the bonus-point try which secured Bath’s place in the last four before events at Saracens improved their day yet further, catapulting them into the top two and seeing them avoid the north London side.

“Two seasons ago some of these players walked off the pitch last in the Premiership,” said Van Graan. “Two seasons later they walk off joint with Northampton on 60 points after 18 rounds and having a home semi-final.

“It’s been some turnaround and some journey. Certainly, a dream I had was about coming to Bath and trying to make a difference. I feel incredibly proud.”

The result was never in doubt after Bath’s first attack, in which Ollie Lawrence kicked to the corner, Saints made a mess of the line-out and from the scrum No 8 Josh Bayliss picked up and dotted down.

Northampton, who had chosen to rest their front-line stars, offered nothing other than handling errors and infringements and Bath were quickly over again, Will Muir busting through the midfield for Russell to add the extras.

It was all too easy for Bath but just when it seemed the scoreline might turn ugly Northampton roused themselves to at least give the home side something to think about.

First, Bath full-back Matt Gallagher was yellow carded for an intentional knock-on, then Saints capitalised on the extra man to put Gallagher’s opposite number over beside the posts.

If Saints took hope into half-time it was quickly extinguished as home hooker Tom Dunn crossed within three minutes of the restart. It marked the start of an uproarious second half celebrated wildly by a full house from the moment Spencer intercepted a pass in his own half and ran it back.

Van Graan sent on his bench to finish the job and they duly obliged with Alfie Barbeary scoring within a minute of taking the field before Muir escaped Saints clutches to bag his second.

Tom Seabrook’s late score was little consolation for Saints, who now face champions Saracens in the first semi-final on Friday week (May 31)

Northampton director of rugby Phil Dowson admitted it was a tough way to finish the regular season and warned his players they needed to quickly pick themselves back up as “no one will remember who finished top of the table – they’re going to remember who picks up the trophy.”

On the prospect of facing champions Saracens in what could be the last game the likes of Owen Farrell, Mako and Billy Vunipola play for the Londoners, he added: “We know the talent, we know the history, we know the players leaving Saracens.

“There’s obviously going to be some narrative around that. We’ve got to make sure we focus entirely on our performance.

“We have spoken about not being happy to finish the regular season on top. I know in rugby league they have a trophy for league leaders but it’s not relevant for what we’re doing.

“We’ve got to make sure all our energy is focused on recovering from that, taking that on the chin and preparing for Sarries. It should be a fairly lively atmosphere on Friday week.”

Match details

Bath: M Gallagher; J Cokanasiga, O Lawrence, C Redpath, W Muir; F Russell (O Bailey 59), B Spencer (L Schreuder, 63); B Obano (J Schoeman 58), T Dunn (N Annett 58), T du Toit (W Stuart 58), Q Roux (E Stooke 56), C Ewels, T Hill, S Underhill (M Reid 66), J Bayliss (A Barbeary 61).

Northampton: J Ramm; T Seabrook, T Litchfield, B Odendaal, O Sleightholme (C Savala 62); R Hutchison, T James; E Iyogun (T Haffar 51), S Matevesi (R Smith 51), E Millar-Mills (P Hill 51), T Mayanavanua (C Munga 51), T Lockett, A Scott-Young, L Ludlum (T Pearson 54), S Graham.

Scores: 5-0 Bayliss try (8 mins); 7-0 Russell con (9); 12-0 Muir try (15); 14-0 Russell con (16); 17-0 Russell pen (25); 17-5 Ramm try (39); 22-5 Dunn try (43); 24-5 Russell con (44); 29-5 Spencer try (54); 31-5 Russell con (55); 36-5 Barbeary try (62); 38-5 Spencer con; 43-5 Will Muir try; 43-10 Seabrook try; 43-12 Savala con.

Referee: C Ridley.