Sleightholme hat-trick leads Northampton past Bath in 119-point thriller

Northampton Saints beat Bath 71-48 on Saturday in a match featuring 18 tries, with Ollie Sleightholme scoring three times and Tommy Freeman twice. BBC Sport reported that the 119-point total made it the second-highest-scoring game in English top-flight history, behind Saints' 94-33 victory over Bristol in May.

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Bath's official match record shows how frequently the advantage changed during the first half. Fin Smith opened the scoring for Northampton, but Tom Carr-Smith and Charlie Griffin replied for the visitors. Sleightholme and Freeman then scored for Saints before Archie Griffin and Arthur Green crossed for Bath. Fraser Dingwall added Northampton's fourth try, while Finn Russell's penalty helped Bath reach half-time 29-26 ahead.

Green scored again immediately after the interval, but the visitors could not establish a decisive cushion. According to BBC Sport, James Pater seized possession after Santiago Carreras dropped the ball and ran in for Northampton. Carreras subsequently scored himself, only for Josh Kemeny and Alex Mitchell to provide further home tries as the contest continued to swing.

The official scoring timeline places Mitchell's try in the 55th minute, followed by two more from Sleightholme in the 59th and 63rd minutes. That sequence completed the winger's hat-trick and gave Northampton room to absorb a Bath response. Josh Bayliss scored in the 64th minute, with Russell converting, but the visitors had no further scores after that.

Alex Coles and Freeman supplied Northampton's final two tries, recorded in the 67th and 76th minutes respectively. Smith converted both to finish with eight successful conversions alongside his own try. Bath's seven tries were supplemented by five Russell conversions and his first-half penalty, leaving them with a sizeable attacking return but a 23-point defeat.

For Northampton, the victory provided a response to their loss against Bristol the previous week. BBC Sport reported that Bath had made 12 changes and suffered their first defeat of the season, despite Green's two tries and Charlie Griffin scoring on his Premiership debut. Saints ultimately separated the sides after the break, turning a three-point interval deficit into a clear home win.