Another crucial issue was the kicking out of hand. Saracens do not play much in their own half, preferring to box kick from scrum-half to take the ball into their opponent’s half. Bath must have known about this but could not find an effective way to convert the received possession into go forward ball that would allow their backs to prosper. In contrast, the Bath kicking and chasing game gave the Saracens back three time and space to choose whether to kick or run the ball. Moreover, on the occasions they did keep the ball, the Bath flat line defence did not stop them making ground, making the decisions of the Saracens half-backs far easier than they should have been.