Three wins in a row may have put Northampton among the Premiership's high-fliers but their coach Wayne Smith sets standards to rival the sternest A-level examiner. Even before Saturday's final whistle Smith was plotting another harsh week of training - "If you want to see some bloodshed, come down" - and Mr Average will be granted no concessions.
At certain clubs there would be open rebellion if the first team were hauled into work at 7am on their day off, as happened last week. But the intense methods of the curly-haired former All Black coach have bred only respect and even seasoned combatants such as Matt Dawson are reaping the benefit.
Dawson's career graph in the past 16 months has declined as sharply as the stock market but finally he is bouncing back. The England scrum-half, who has not started a Test for 11 months, had a hand in all three first-half tries and, as Smith pointedly put it, is "playing with more composure now he's not flapping his arms around and talking to refs".
With Kyran Bracken and Andy Gomarsall narrowly ahead of Dawson in the selection queue, next Saturday's game against Bracken and Saracens will be fascinating, not least because the Northampton man looks fitter and more focused having spent the summer peering into the mirror and, for once, not liking everything he saw.
"Maybe over the last couple of years I have been distracted," agreed Dawson, with a chastened nod towards his Lions tour diary tribulations. "You tend not to realise until you step out and have a look back in at yourself. Now it's up to me. What Wayne has done is analyse me and tweak bits and bobs which I needed to tweak. I'm playing like I was five or six years ago."
The reverse flip pass which put Peter Jorgensen over for his second try was a fine example of the threat Dawson can pose, and with more precision Saints might have had three more tries before half-time instead of waiting until the 79th minute for Ben Cohen to maintain his try-a-game record and secure a bonus point.
Bath's strike-rate - Michael Foley's side have been tryless in three of their four games - remains their most pressing concern, although Matt Perry is now expected back next month and Iain Balshaw, another long-term casualty, hopes to be playing again by the end of November.
Northampton: Beal; Ripol, Jorgensen, Leslie (capt), Cohen; Grayson, Dawson; Smith, Thompson (Richmond, 65), Stewart (Morris, 55), Phillips, Connors, Blowers (Hunter, 76), Pountney, Seely (Soden, 60).
Tries: Ripol, Jorgensen 2, Cohen. Cons: Grayson 2.
Sin bin: Morris, 70.
Bath: Barkley; Danielli, Crockett, Tindall (Thirlby, 77), Voyce; Malone, Cooper (Blake, 54); Emms (Barnes, h-t), Humphreys (Mears, 62), Galasso (Mallett, 59), Beattie (Lloyd, 65), Grewcock (capt), G Thomas (Scaysbrook, 50), Lyle, N Thomas.
Pen: Barkley.
Sin bin: Tindall, 67.
Referee: D McHugh (Ireland).
Attendance: 9,560.
