Deja vu for Sarries as Bath win another semi-final

5/5 for Barkley
By Jason Harris
April 23 2007

Cast your minds back four years: Same team. Same competition. Same stage. Same agonising result. For the second time in a European Challenge Cup semi final, Saracens were beaten by Bath, this time by a solitary point 31-30 at a balmy Vicarage Road.

Four first half tries from the visitors effectively sealed Sarries’ fate after the Men in Black gifted Bath two tries through poor execution and poor defence and in spite of scoring four of their own, they were unable to keep their heads or kick all of their goals while the westcountrymen kept things direct, simple and accurate to run out deserved winners.

After a tentative opening, Sarries struck after eight minutes when Rodd Penney rounded off a swift, first phase move in the left hand corner. From a scrum on the right, Glen Jackson missed out Dan Scarbrough to hit Andy Farrell in midfield. Farrell then missed out Kevin Sorrell to find the onrushing Thomas Castaidnede who made no mistake with the scoring pass, exploiting the two-on-one overlap. Jackson missed the conversion from the left touch line.

Bath bounced back and took the lead after two scores in two minutes. First Andy Beattie crossed at the posts after a typical Danny Grewcock charge. Grewcock the provider then turned scorer as Mike Lipman, following his lock’s example a couple of minutes earlier, flattened Kevin Sorrell in the build-up, and set the ball up on the line for Grewcock to pick up and dive over. Olly Barkley kicked both conversions to put his side 14-5 ahead just after the quarter hour.

Glen Jackson narrowed the arrears shortly afterwards, but then the first of two freebies for Bath came as win David Bory picked off a Jackson pass as the New Zealander tried to move the ball wide quickly to take advantage of a three-man overlap. The French international went unchallenged to the posts 60 metres away and Barkley kicked the easy goal. A potential 15-14 scoreline was suddenly 8-21 and Bath were looking good.

Rodd Penney reduced the arrears with his second try of the match as Jackson this time found his man with a great offload in the tackle and Penney skirted around the hapless Back fullback Joe Maddock and outsprint the cover to touch down under the sticks. Jackson couldn’t fail with the conversion and he also booted a long-range penalty and Sarries were right back in it.

All that good work for the Penney try and Jackson goal was undone, however, as Bath pinched try number four with the last move of the first half. Their impressive fly half Shaun Berne saw soundalike Shane Byrne in front of him on the Saracens 22 and the Australian rounded the Irishman to get the five points. Barkley again goaled and the half time whistle sounded with Bath up by 10 points; 28-18.


Neil De Kock failed to return for the second half - replaced by Alan Dickens - as Sarries tried to overcome the deficit but Jackson failed with an early penalty chance, putting his 35m kick wide right. Sarries made amends, though, just a couple of minutes later.

A quick throw-in in their own half began a move through seven phases and countless pairs of hands and Dan Scarbrough was the recipient of Jackson’s scoring pass to squeeze in at the left corner flag. Jackson added the conversion and Sarries were again back to within three points.

Jackson then turned villain for Sarries as he was pinged by referee Nigel Owens for not rolling away in the tackle, giving Barkley an easy penalty goal to take bath on the 31 points.

With half an hour still to play and Saracens within a converted try of taking a win, they, inexplicably, played catch-up rugby as if there were just a couple of minutes left on the clock.

As Sarries piled on the pressure, Alan Dickens was ruled out for offside as his clever kick to deflect a Nick Walshe pass from the back of a defensive five metre Bath scrum sat up for him to gather and cross the line.

Kris Chesney was then denied by Derek Bevan, the TMO, as he failed to ground the ball just over the line. From the ensuing five metre scrum, the ball was again flung wide and Scarbrough got his second try of the afternoon, stepping off his right foot to get five points at the corner. Jackson's conversion looked on target, but drifted agnoisingly wide of the left hand upright.

Credit to Bath, they ran down the remaining time on the clock efficiently; denying Saracens any ball in the final five minutes and the team and the travelling fans were jubilant when Owens blew his whistle for full time.

Alan Gaffney was very unhappy with the Saracens defence which, let's be frank, picked the wrong game to concede the most points and tries in a single outing and he will have a tough job to get the boys up for what's left of the season.

So it was yet another case of “what might have been” for Sarries and their nine-year wait for another final appearance will have to be just that little bit longer. Saturday’s game at Worcester takes on even more significance now, as the last tilt for a trophy could well conld be possible if the Men in Black prevent the Warriors from doing the double over them for the first time.

Scorers: Saracens: Tries: Penney 2 (9min, 29), Scarbrough 2 (46, 71). Conversions: Jackson 2. Penalty goals: Jackson 2 (24, 32). Bath: Tries: Beattie (14), Grewcock (16), Bory (26), Berne (40). Conversions: Barkley 4. Penalty goal: Barkley (49).

Scoring sequence (Saracens first): 5-0, 5-7, 5-14, 8-14, 8-21, 15-21, 18-21, 18-28 (half-time), 25-28, 25-31, 30-31.

Saracens: T Castaignède; D Scarbrough, K Sorrell, A Farrell, R Penney; G Jackson, N de Kock (rep: A Dickens, 41); N Lloyd (rep: J Visagie, 79), S Byrne (rep: M Cairns, 67), J Visagie (rep: C Johnston, 47), H Vyvyan, S Raiwalui (rep: I Fullarton, 65), K Chesney, R Hill (rep: D Seymour, 57), B Skirving.

Bath: J Maddock (rep: C Walker, 72); T Cheeseman, E Fuimanono-Sapolu, O Barkley, D Bory; S Berne, N Walshe; D Barnes, L Mears (rep: P Dixon, 67), M Stevens, S Borthwick, D Grewcock, A Beattie (rep: P Short, 64), M Lipman, I Feaunati (rep: C Goodman, 67).

Referee: N Owens.

Attendance: 5,359.