It was Bath’s fifth consecutive loss at Franklin’s Gardens, but they showed remarkable resilience to recover from being 19 points down to lead with three minutes to go and outscore their opponents by five tries to four.
Joe Cokanasiga scored two tries with Orlando Bailey, Will Stuart and Max Ojomoh also on the scoresheet as Scotland captain Finn Russell converted three and added a penalty.
George Hendy, Fraser Dingwall, James Ramm and Josh Kemeny scored Saints’ tries, with Smith kicking three conversions and three penalties.
“It was a massive relief when Fin knocked the kick over as we had played some really good stuff, but became scrappy in the second half,” Northampton director of rugby Phil Dowson said.
“We were 19-0 up, but went into our shells in the third quarter and struggled to exit quickly,” he added. “We obviously will take loads from the win as you can’t coach grit, but there will only be a change in momentum and fortune if we can kick on from here in our next games.”
England wing Ollie Sleightholme withdrew from Saints’ bench with a hamstring problem, but the home side quickly overcame the setback to take the lead after only 80 seconds.
This story is from the {{IssueName}} edition of {{MagazineName}}.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Sign In
This story is from the {{IssueName}} edition of {{MagazineName}}.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
Old-school Dubois set on inheriting Taylor's throne
Caroline Dubois is unbeaten in 10 fights, has barely lost a round, she is the world champion, and nobody wants to fight her.
Forest canter past Wolves to continue unbeaten run
Nottingham Forest opened the door to a surprise Premier League title challenge after a sixth win in a row with a 3-0 victory at Wolves.
Life after Moyes a mess for incoherent Hammers side
As West Ham were defeated, they got a glimpse of what they have lost. David Moyes was at the Etihad Stadium, the scene of his last game as their manager. West Ham were beaten then, just as they were in Julen Lopetegui's latest match in charge.
Lessons learnt by United or just one more false dawn?
For large parts of his Manchester United career, Bruno Fernandes has appeared the answer. Now he posed the question.
From recession to rate cuts: 2025 economic predictions
I usually feel queasy when writing predictions for the year ahead.
London exchange exodus is a sign of US dominance
Last year saw the biggest outflow of companies from the London Stock Exchange since the global financial crisis. According to accountants EY, 88 companies, including Paddy Power owner Flutter, travel group Tui and Just Eat, abandoned the London market for US and European exchanges.
New blow as retailers warn of price hikes and job cuts
Keir Starmer faces a fresh Budget headache as retailers warn of higher prices and job cuts following disappointing sales in the crucial Christmas \"golden quarter\".
TALKING TRASH
From KKK brawls to the infamous man who married a horse’ episode, a new Netflix documentary delves into the story of The Jerry Springer Show’. Louis Chilton finds out more
Why the latest social media vogue is a fridge too far
Thought wall-to-wall beige and displaying books the wrong way round was bad? They’ve got nothing on fridgescaping’, the most unhinged Instagram trend yet, writes Helen Coffey
Drill, baby, drill': Big Oil is coming after electric vehicles
Have you ever gone back over your new year's resolutions from years ago and just thought, \"What was I thinking?\" Over the last year, it seems that Europe's biggest oil corporations did just that.
