Bath have won seven of their eight games since the Premiership resumed but need another mighty effort today at Allianz Park to book their place in the semi-finals
Saracens v Bath live stream: How to watch from anywhere
Bath have drawn the short straw in the final round of the Gallagher Premiership regular season. Wasps, Sale and Bristol – their rivals for a play-off place – will be expected to see off opposition with different agendas and little to play for beyond professional pride.
Related content: Sale v Worcester postponed until Wednesday
In contrast, Bath today face a Saracens side looking to mark the end of an era in appropriate, winning fashion (kick-off 3pm). It is Sarries’ last Premiership match before they drop down to the RFU Championship and begin another journey with newer and younger players aboard.
On top of which, two giants of the Premiership take their leave. Richard Wigglesworth will make his 250th and final Saracens appearance ten years after joining from Sale Sharks. The England scrum-half, who is not hanging up his boots just yet, bows out as a Saracen with five Premiership titles and three Champions Cups to his name.
Journey’s end: Sarries scrum-half Richard Wigglesworth feeds a scrum against Racing (Getty Images)
Club captain Brad Barritt has been at Sarries even longer. Sadly, injury denies this immense and courageous figure a 263rd and final appearance for the club.
Wigglesworth, 37, said: “Brad as captain has basically lifted every trophy we have ever won. I have never seen a guy physically do what he does on a weekly basis.”
With Barritt, Alex Goode and Duncan Taylor all missing, Sarries’ midfield has an unfamiliar look. Sam Crean and Callum Hunter-Hill come into the pack, which is otherwise unchanged from the one beaten agonisingly by Racing 92 in the Champions Cup semi-final.
Bath know anything other than victory at Allianz Park, where they have never won, will mean their wait for a last-four place continues. They last reached the semi-finals in 2015, going on to lose the final to Sarries.
Three figures: fly-half Rhys Priestland makes his 100th appearance in the Blue, Black and White (Getty Images)
Fly-half Rhys Priestland plays his 100th game for them in a side showing two changes from the XV that achieved a remarkable comeback win over Gloucester in the previous round. Josh McNally replaces Elliott Stooke at lock and Mike Williams comes in for Tom Ellis in the back row. Will Spencer is the only change on the bench.
Bath have won all four away matches since the Premiership resumed in mid-August and must believe they have what it takes to do the job, regardless of what Saracens throw at them.
“Emotions will be running high for them,” said prop Lewis Boyce. “They are one hell of a side but from what we have here at Bath Rugby and how we have been training, I think we can go there and do what we need to do. The boys are flying and it is our quarter-final.”
The reverse fixture last November took place when Saracens were just starting their mission to eat into a 35-point deduction for breaching salary cap regulations. As we know, events overtook them. They won 25-12 at The Rec that day, all the points coming from the boots of Owen Farrell and Priestland apart from a Sean Maitland try.
You can remind yourself of how the game unfolded by watching the highlights here.
Saracens: Elliot Daly; Alex Lewington, Dom Morris, Juan Pablo Socino, Sean Maitland; Manu Vunipola, Richard Wigglesworth; Sam Crean, Jamie George, Vincent Koch, Maro Itoje, Tim Swinson, Callum Hunter-Hill, Jackson Wray, Billy Vunipola.
Replacements: 16 Tom Woolstencroft, 17 Robin Hislop, 18 Alec Clarey, 19 Joel Kpoku, 20 Janco Venter, 21 Aled Davies, 22 Harry Sloan, 23 Rotimi Segun.
Bath: Anthony Watson; Semesa Rokoduguni, Jonathan Joseph, Josh Matavesi, Ruaridh McConnochie; Rhys Priestland, Ben Spencer; Beno Obano, Tom Dunn, Will Stuart, Josh McNally, Charlie Ewels (capt), Mike Williams, Sam Underhill, Taulupe Faletau.
Replacements: 16 Jack Walker, 17 Lewis Boyce, 18 Christian Judge, 19 Will Spencer, 20 Miles Reid, 21 Will Chudley, 22 Cameron Redpath, 23 Joe Cokanasiga.
Here’s how to watch a reliable live stream of Saracens v Bath wherever you are…
How to watch Saracens v Bath from outside your country
If you’re abroad but still want to watch your local Premiership coverage, like Saracens v Bath, you can do so by using a VPN – Virtual Private Network.
VPNs allow you to get around any geo-blocking by changing your IP address so you appear in a different location and can watch the same legal Premiership live stream you would at home.
Our friends at TechRadar have tested hundreds of VPN and recommend ExpressVPN, which is easy to use, has strong security features and allows you to watch on several devices at once, including smart TVs and phones, iPads, tablets, PCs and Macs.
Plus, ExpressVPN comes with a 30-day money-back guarantee. You can try it out for a month for free or sign up for an annual plan and get three months free.
Saracens v Bath live stream: How to watch from the UK
Saracens v Bath, which kicks off at 3pm today, will be shown live on BT Sport 1 in the UK. If you don’t have a BT contract but want to watch the match, don’t worry because you can still easily watch it online.
That’s because BT Sport has a contract-free monthly pass that allows you to get instant access to all four of their sport channels for just £25.
That’s great value given they are showing every Premiership match played behind closed doors live and will also be covering the European Champions and Challenge Cup finals later this month. Plus, you can cancel at any time because there’s no contract.
If you’re from the UK but are overseas when Saracens v Bath takes place, you can get your normal live stream but you’ll need a VPN – see the information above.
Saracens v Bath live stream: How to watch from Europe
If you’re in Austria, Germany, Liechtenstein or Switzerland, you can watch Saracens v Bath (kick-off 4pm) through the live and on-demand streaming service DAZN.
Saracens v Bath live stream: How to watch from the USA
If you live in the States, the official broadcaster of Premiership matches is NBC, with matches streamed on NBC Sports Gold so you can watch them anytime and anywhere.
Saracens v Bath will kick off at 10am EST and 7am on the West Coast.
The NBC Sports Gold Pass for rugby is $79.99 and includes coverage of the Gallagher Premiership, European Champions and Challenge Cups, and Guinness Six Nations.
Saracens v Bath live stream: How to watch from New Zealand
It’s little wonder that Sky Sport NZ, with ten sports channels, including one dedicated to rugby, is the rights-holder for Premiership matches in New Zealand.
If you want to tune in to Saracens v Bath from the Land of the Long White Cloud, the match kicks off at 2am on Sky Sport NZ 1.
It costs $31.99 a month to add Sky Sport to your Sky Starter pack ($25.99).
We recommend VPN services in the context of legal recreational uses. For example:
- Accessing a service from another country (subject to the terms and conditions of that service)
- Protecting your online security and strengthening your online privacy when abroad
We do not support or condone the illegal or malicious use of VPN services. Consuming pirated content that is paid-for is neither endorsed nor approved by Future Publishing.
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