Saracens 31 - Bath 17: More of the Goode life for Sarries

Three games, three bonus-point victories at an average of 39 points per match – the leaders are flying. If there were mitigating factors in their first two romps – London Irish were not very good and Gloucester played 79 minutes with 14 men – Bath, unbeaten themselves until yesterday, should have provided a stern test.

Instead they were swatted aside in a definitive opening 40 minutes which have set the standards for the English season. The Saracens style has evolved from dreary functionalism to something altogether snappier and with a sting in the tail.

The irresistible mix of punch and panache left a spread-eagled Bath 31-3 adrift at the break, by which point Saracens already had their try-scoring bonus point .

Bath responded with heart after the break – wing Semesa Rokoduguni picked off Alex Goode’s pass to race in from 70 metres and replacement second-row Dave Attwood rumbled over with four minutes left – but the scores were irrelevant to a striking bigger picture.

“We made a big change over the summer,” said Saracens director of rugby Mark McCall. “We had a system which had been in place for three years which we felt was handicapping some players.

“We wanted some of our good ball players on the ball more often and this is a more flexible system. We were really, really good in that first half.”

The beef came from Jacques Burger and the Vunipola brothers, who smashed gaping holes in the Bath defence, and the clever stuff from Goode, who was a creative fountain on his first appearance of the season after shoulder reconstruction.

It was the England full-back’s pass which put David Strettle away for Sarries’ first try in the 10th minute after Mako Vunipola had burst clear from a lineout.

Eight minutes later Goode was over himself, dummying and diving in after Billy Vunipola had given Saracens’ attack impetus. Bath were reduced to conceding a stream of penalties and, after hoooker Rob Webber had been sin-binned, Saracens took advantage with two tries .

First Matt Stevens launched himself, Superman-style, over a ruck and the line to score a try which was met with equal amounts of cheering and laughter. If Chris Ashton has the Ash Splash, this was more the Matt Splat.

Then in first-half injury time, a strike against the head by Schalk Brits in the Bath 22 gave Saracens possession . The busy Ashton appeared in the centre to put Strettle in at the left-hand corner for his second try, which was converted, like the others, by the flawless Owen Farrell.

A bad day for the travelling Bath support was made worse by the exit of Gavin Henson in the 55th minute. Saracens had promised Bath fans their money back if he scored a point but he departed empty-handed after an anonymous afternoon.

Saracens 31 - Bath 17: More of the Goode life for Sarries