Northampton outgun Bath in 119-point thriller

Northampton outscored Bath in a high-scoring 18-try thriller at Franklin’s Gardens, finishing with 11 tries to Bath’s seven in a match that produced 119 points—second only to Saints’ 127-point record in the English top flight. Saints, after a week’s defeat to Bristol, responded from early momentum and built separation in the second half, led by Ollie Sleightholme’s hat-trick and two tries from Tommy Freeman. Bath, making 12 changes, had scoring from Arthur Green (two tries) and Charlie Griffin on his Prem debut. Fin Smith and Rory Hutchinson combined for Northampton’s first try, while Green’s second effort and a string of later scores by Alex Mitchell, Josh Kemeny and Freeman sealed the win. Head coach Sam Vesty said both sides moved quickly and that Northampton will review how they handled possession at key moments.