SARACENS 23 BATH RUGBY 14
Bath Rugby finished the Aviva Premiership season with defeat when they were beaten by table toppers Saracens at Allianz Park.
The loss means Gary Gold's side end the campaign seventh in the standings, missing out on a return to the Heineken Cup next term.
Rob Webber and Horacio Agulla touched down for the visitors, but tries from British & Irish Lions duo Mako Vunipola and Owen Farrell, as well as England's Chris Ashton, ensured Sarries finished on top.
Bath started promisingly and enjoyed good possession in Saracens territory but failed to take advantage when given the chance to take the lead. A powerful shove by the visiting pack turned a Sarries scrum, but fly-half Tom Heathcote's penalty from 25 metres drifted wide of the posts.
The home side were quick to make them pay and after winning a lineout just outside Bath's 22 a driving maul brought them to the line. Hooker Schalk Brits fed Ashton in space and the England international winger darted over in the corner.
Farrell missed the conversion but added a penalty in front of the posts soon afterwards when Bath flanker Guy Mercer was sent to the sin-bin for infringing when Sarries drove their way to tryline once more.
The league leaders continued to turn the screw in the face of poor Bath defence and Farrell opted to kick a penalty on the edge of the 22 to the corner.
Sarries won the lineout and bludgeoned their way to the line, where Vunipola spun off the back of the maul and even the combined efforts of Kyle Eastmond and Semesa Rokoduguni could not deny the Lions prop a try.
Farrell's conversion from the touchline drifted wide and more points went begging when a forward pass denied them a third try in the opening 25 minutes. A good break from scrum-half Neil De Kock put Vunipola in space but his offload to the waiting Ashton was deemed illegal.
A yellow card for Farrell then brought numbers level when the England fly-half caught Heathcote with a high tackle. Momentum soon began to shift Bath's way and they hauled themselves back into the contest on the stroke of half-time.
After several excellent phases the visitors won a penalty deep in Sarries territory. Heathcote kicked to the corner and when the lineout was won a driving maul charged over the line, with hooker Webber claiming the touchdown. Heathcote split the posts with the conversion to bring Bath within six points at the break.
A chance to cut the gap further went begging soon after the restart when Heathcote was off target with a penalty, and the miss was quickly compounded when Sarries scored a third try.
De Kock darted into space from a ruck and, after racing 30 metres to the line, he unselfishly offloaded to Farrell to complete the score. The youngster easily added the extras in front of the posts but could not match the accuracy when Sarries won a penalty out wide on the left.
Bath refused to roll over, though, and a second try gave them a glimmer of hope. After a series of lineouts in Sarries' 22, scrum-half Michael Claassens picked out Agulla, and the Argentine winger burst through the defence to score.
Heathcote kept his cool to convert but a further Farrell penalty from the left-hand touchline eased the home side's nerves and they confidently saw out the final ten minutes for victory.
For Gold's side the result brings to a close a frustrating season where a return to Europe's top-tier competition was always the target.
The recruitment process ahead of 2013-14 has delivered several exciting arrivals but Bath still look some way off going toe-to-toe with the continent's elite on a consistent basis.
SARACENS: Wyles, Ashton (Maddock 71), Tomkins, Farrell, Strettle, Hodgson (Taylor 55), De Kock (Wigglesworth 53), Vunipola (Gill 61), Brits (Smith 55), Stevens (Nieto 61), Borthwick (Botha 53), Hargreaves (Kruis 71), Brown, Saull, Wray.
Tries: Ashton, Vunipola, Farrell. Conversions: Farrell. Penalties: Farrell 2.
BATH RUGBY: Devoto, Agulla, Williams, Eastmond (Biggs 41), Rokoduguni, Heathcote, Claassens (Stringer 68), James (Catt 63), Webber (Batty 55), Wilson (Perenise 61), Day (Spencer 50), Attwood, Louw, Mercer (Gilbert 57), Taylor (Koster 72).
Tries: Webber, Agulla. Conversions: Heathcote 2.
Referee: Martin Fox
Attendance: 9,998
