The Final, Bath v Saints - Saturday 3.00 - ITV

[Mr Mwenda]

What the fuck is Mitchell thinking with that quick tap

Not thinking at all. A bit concerning to be honest.

[Puja]

MotM was comedic - how can you give it to a winger who came off the bench for the last 20, even if he was responsible for the game-winning break? Underhill was the best player on the park and, if you insist it must be given to a player on the winning side, Furbank assisted two of the Saints tries (and wmdid well at 10 in the build-up to the third) and was consistently excellent.

Puja

[fivepointer]

Huge effort from Bath to stay in the game the way they did.

Neither side really got going i felt, save the odd moment of quality. Hendy does have a knack of making things happen.

Hopefully Smith will be OK to tour. Obano looks set to miss out.

[Which Tyler]

Yep, how TF did He dy get MotM? Who's decision was that?

MotM was a tie between Underhill and Du Toit, with honourable mentions for Ewels, Spenxer and a couple of Saints.

For Saints, Lawes was immense, Coles a nuisance, Sleighthome a constant threat, Furbank a handful, and Hendy was... there for a bit, I guess.

[FKAS]

Yep, how TF did He dy get MotM? Who's decision was that?

MotM was a tie between Underhill and Du Toit, with honourable mentions for Ewels, Spenxer and a couple of Saints.

For Saints, Lawes was immense, Coles a nuisance, Sleighthome a constant threat, Furbank a handful, and Hendy was... there for a bit, I guess.

I had Freeman as Saints best player. Some good carries, a couple of vital turnovers and some brilliant cover tackles. He had Muir in his pocket up to the point he switched to centre.

[Oakboy]

How do you assess the MoM? Is it effect on the game? Should it be based on stats?

Maybe, one indicator would be comparing a player with his opposite number. Spencer v Mitchell, for example. Lawes certainly outplayed Hill. Langdon would have to become a contender. Freeman, Furbank and Underhill too.

Or, scrub the whole thing. In the ultimate TEAM sport, why concentrate on an individual? The media would not back it, but a better idea, within a team competition, would be Unit of the Match. At least, that is still a significant 'part of team' award. Perhaps, Bath's 2nd row would edge that or Saints' back three.

[Mikey Brown]

I… don’t see that catching on.

Really gutted for Barbeary. It says something for how highly they rate Hill that he stayed on, but in the end you feel like Barbeary may have been a better option? Obano too but in a slightly different way.

It was a strange game. Bath seemed to have momentum for a long time but just could capitalise on it. Neither side really strung a lot together but Saints managed the couple of vital attacks needed to break the deadlock. It still felt like it may be a bit underwhelming somehow for a Saints supporter?

There will be some pretty painful fluffed opportunities that Bath look back on.

Underhill absolutely class, as has been said. He really does seem to be a big game player.

Has Mitchell been overplayed perhaps? Or was that nothing to do with minutes/fitness?

A shame we didn’t really see much chance for either flyhalf to get in a groove.

[Mellsblue]

I think Langdon was poor and showed he lacks the physicality for the very top rugby, with test match obvs being a step above yesterday. Underhill was ridiculously good. Otherwise, I think the only player who did themselves England credit, above and beyond what we already knew, was Dingwall. It was an enthralling match but it was error strewn.

[Mikey Brown]

I couldn’t quite decide if it was top-class spoiling going on or everyone just had the jitters. It was incredibly stop start but I did enjoy it overall.

[Mellsblue]

I thought Ridley was very harsh at ruck time which didn’t help.

[Mikey Brown]

Also what is this cringey bullshit with everyone wearing ski goggles whenever they win a trophy? Is this some long running tradition that I’ve never noticed before?

[p/d]

It’s taking the piss out of protecting eyes from champagne

[Mellsblue]

The whole thing brings tears to my eyes.

[Which Tyler]

I had Freeman as Saints best player.

Dammit - meant to name-check him as well; Lawes still my MotM is limiting ourselves to Saints players.

[Beasties]

Well done to bath for keeping it a contest.

Yep, Underhill immense in defence

I rather think defence isn’t the right word. Attack might be a better way to describe his defence. Man possessed.

[Beasties]

Hendy was certainly "involved" in his cameo. But MOM? Fekk off. Underhill all day long, with duToit a close second. Freeman Saints’ best player.

Flats excellent as always. He’s just on his own as a commentator.

[Oakboy]

On a sad note, did Coka 'not-play' himself out of international contention permanently? Physically, he ought to be the deal but he just isn't.

[Which Tyler]

He's been pretty good this year - his current biggest weakness is that he's forgotten how to catch a rugby ball.
His hands used to be his stand-out attribute (still are very good once he's got the ball), but he's dropping far too many passes - feels like literally 1 in 3 chance that he'll just fail knock on.

I wouldn't write him off just yet - though it's fair to have done so; but he's certainly dropping ever further down the pecking order.

[Mellsblue]

Good little video from the Northampton social media crew.

https://x.com/saintsrugby/status/180132 ... MV3j-SK8yQ