Will Muir grabs hat-trick as Bath pour on style in demolition of sloppy Saracens

Yesterday at 10:09 AM

• Bath 68-10 Saracens
• Sarries see red in their largest Premiership defeat

It looks increasingly likely that when the fog of winter lifts, Bath will emerge top of the pile, perfectly placed to launch an assault on the Premiership playoffs. Saracens travelled west aiming to make it four wins from four in December, but were dismissed with contemptuous ease by Johann van Graan's finely-tuned side. The visitors' cause was not helped by a pair of early cards, one yellow and one red, but Bath were dominant in achieving their biggest-ever Premiership win against Saracens, with Will Muir scoring a hat-trick.

The bonus-point success sends them clear at the top, halfway through the season, and it would be a shock if they do not pay a second straight visit to Twickenham next June. Liam Williams, the visiting full-back, was sent to the sin bin after four minutes and Toby Knight, Saracens' openside, was sent off for a high tackle on Ollie Lawrence 10 minutes later. That was yet another a split-second defensive misjudgement that resulted in another regrettably unbalanced contest. But it could be argued Bath had already taken a grip on the match, with the cards reflecting the fact, and that certainly applied to the earlier Williams incident.