PREM: Saracens 29-36 Bath: Ben Spencer masterclass guides Bath to top of the table

Saracens started quickly, just three minutes in, Malins strolled in unopposed. A Farrell cross kick, which was tapped back by Caluori, Sarries then moved the ball to the other touchline where Malins took advantage of the overlap and strolled in.

Saracen’s dominant first 20 minutes continued when Gonzalez dived over the line after a linebreak from Ben Earl to give the home team a 14-0 lead after 14 minutes.

Bath hit back with a penalty but Saracens kept the pressure on. With 19 minutes on the clock Ardunell lifted the away side when he intercepted Ivan van Zyl’s pass and ran it home from 80 metres.

The homeside hit back, Malis got his second try after 32 minutes. Noah Caluori won a penalty in the air which gave Sarries an attacking lineout after some good phase play Malins went in unopposed again.

Owen Farrell knocked over a 40m drop goal three minutes later to give his side a 22-10 lead.

Two minutes before the half Bath’s pack flexed their muscles and drove their South African talisman du Toit over to bring the score to 22-17 at the half.

Bath came flying out of the blocks for the second half. Nine minutes after the break and after a period of sustained pressure Butt went over after some clever deception from Spencer to tie the game at 22-22.

Bath went ahead on the scoreboard after 53 minutes. The defending champions went the length of the pitch. Arthur Green finished off a lovely move from the visitors that began with some trademark Finn Russell magic.

Saracens hit back eight minutes later when Gonzalez got his second try of the evening from short range. 29-29 with twenty to go. After this Bath emptied their bench.

It was a cagey last twenty with both teams desperate not to give it away but it was Bath’s bench that got them over the line as it so often does. Henry Arundell scored the final try of the game with just four minutes left, but it was Max Ojomoh’s brilliant pickup and turn of pace that made it.

Tries: 4 (Malins 2’,31’ Gonzalez 13’,59’)

Conversions: 2 (Farrell 3’ 14’)

Penalties: 0

Drop Goals: 1 ( Farrell 34’ )

Yellow cards: 0

Red cards: 0

15. Elliot Daly 14. Noah Caluori 13. Lucio Cinti 12. Nick Tompkins 11. Max Malins 10. Owen Farrell 9. Ivan van Zyl (captain) 1. Rhys Carre 2. Theo Dan 3. Marco Riccioni 4. Theo McFarland 5. Hugh Tizard 6. Juan Martin Gonzalez 7. Ben Earl 8. Tom Willis

Replacements: 16. James Hadfield 17. Eroni Mawi 18. Marcus Street 19. Harry Wilson 20. Nick Isiekwe 21. Charlie Bracken 22. Fergus Burke 23. Angus Hall

Tries: 5 (Arundell 18’ 75’, Du Toit 37’, Butt 48’,Green 52’ )

Conversions: 3 ( Russell 19’, 38’, 53’, 76’ )

Penalties: 1 ( Russell 17’)

Yellow cards: 0

Red cards: 0

15. Tom de Glanville 14. Joe Cokanasiga 13. Chris Harris 12. Will Butt 11. Henry Arundell 10. Finn Russell 9. Ben Spencer (captain) 1. Beno Obano 2. Tom Dunn 3. Thomas du Toit 4. Quinn Roux 5. Charlie Ewels 6. Josh Bayliss 7. Miles Reid 8. Arthur GreenReplacements: 16. Dan Frost 17. Francois van Wyk 18. Will Stuart 19. Ross Molony 20. Ted Hill 21. Tom Carr-Smith 22. Max Ojomoh 23. Cameron Redpath

Going into this one, there was plenty of talk about the battle of the 10s with Owen Farrell and Finn Russell going head-on. Both fly-halves were influential for their sides, with both taking the kicking game to new lengths when establishing dominance in this one. Farrell’s composure on the ball, including a drop goal, allowed his wingers to get in the air and win the ball back, but ultimately it would be Finn Russell's touch finding kicks that put the visitors in the position to take all five points.

It was really a tale of two halves as Saracens came out of the stops to lead at the break, but there was a shift in the second half and the ability to bring on players like Will Stuart, Max Ojomoh, amongst others, allowed for those in Black, White and Blue to close out the game. Bath’s strength saw them dominate the scrum and, when in open play, put their opponents on the back foot with the power and pace of the centres and wingers. This led to the winning score from Henry Arundell in the corner.

Bath’s scrum half Ben Spencer will be disappointed not to get more minutes in an England shirt, but in his club colours, he’s shining. Another confident performance put his side on the front foot from the breakdown and in the midfield with his half-back pairing of Russell. His speed and passing set the backline up with plenty of space to use the ball and get into positions to score. Steve Borthwick may want to pay more attention to the number 9, who has already shown what he can do.

The full-back was instrumental to everything that Saracens did right in an attacking sense. His assists for Max Malins and work on the ball offered the hosts a perfect chance to get the ball in hand and play with it. His defensive awareness after 4 or 5 months out was also impressive, reading the ball well to judge his kicks in behind. He will be a key member of this Saracens side if they are to kick on and reach the playoffs come May.

Since his return to the Prem, the winger has shown exactly why he is so highly praised. His speed and athleticism meant his battle on the wing was mostly won. He arguably kept his side in it at the break with an interception off a pass from Ivan Van Zyl running 80 metres to score, before he ran the supporting run to score the winner off a Max Ojomoh break. With Will Muir still out and the visitors looking to elevate their game, Henry might be the person to do so.