Replacement Ted Hill powers over late on as Bath fight back to beat Northampton in an 11-try epic to reach the semi-finals of the Champions Cup for first time since 2006
Kepu Tuipulotu, another replacement, cut Northampton's lead to five as Bath dominated the second half
Saints led by 21 points during a sensational first half but two late Bath tries reduced their lead to 35-26 at half-time
Replacement Alfie Barbeary named player of the match as Prem champions' bench made a massive impact
Bath, European champions in 1998, will play Toulouse or Bordeaux in last four in May
Bath 0-14 Northampton
Alex Cuthbert
Champions Cup winner with Exeter on BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra
What an offload one-handed! What a try. What a start from the Saints!
I actually can't believe it. Northampton have had two chances and executed them brilliantly.
Fraser Dingwall (con: Fin Smith)
What on earth is happening? Saints are in again!
Fin Smith delays a pass perfectly to send Tommy Freeman through a gap and he passes back inside to the supporting Fraser Dingwall who is under the posts for Saints' second try in the opening six minutes.
Smith slots the conversion too to make sure it's maximum points.
I don't think Saints could have dreamed of a better start away at the Rec!
They have caught Bath completely cold and the hosts have to respond.
Image source, Getty ImagesHenry Pollock (con: Fin Smith)
That encouraging start has just got a whole lot better!
Saints take the penalty quickly and it's shifted to number eight Henry Pollock who barges his way through tackles before stretching over the line to score the opening try!
As starts go, it doesn't get much better than that for the visitors!
Image source, Getty ImagesBath 0-0 Northampton
A very encouraging start if you're a Saints fan.
They are the ones making the early running.
And wow, a yellow card after two minutes for Bath's Miles Reid!
That is very very early to be down to 14.
Andrew Brace had no hesitation in reaching for his card though.
Bath 0-0 Northampton
Bath fly-half Finn Russell gets us under way at the Rec.
Which way do you see this going?
Send us your views throughout the night by clicking on the yellow Get Involved button on this page.
Let's hope it lives up the billing!
Bath v Northampton (20:00 BST)
James Burridge
BBC Sport rugby commentator on BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra
Can any English team truly compete on two fronts? That is the question that these two are trying to answer.
Bath v Northampton (20:00 BST)
The city of Bath looks an absolute picture as the tv cameras give us a birdseye view of the Rec as the sun sets with the cathedral and beautiful Georgian buildings in the background.
The Rec is right next to the River Avon and the last of the fans are making their way through the gates from the riverside to take their seats.
Kick-off is almost upon us.
Ready?
Bath v Northampton (20:00 BST)
Alex Cuthbert
Champions Cup winner with Exeter on BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra
Bath's bench is stacked and they can cause havoc when they come on. Is there a better squad in Europe?
It's probably only Bordeaux or Toulouse who have more strength in depth.
Northampton have Alex Mitchell on the bench and it could be crucial when he comes on. Whoever wins the kicking battle wins tonight.
Friday:
Saturday:
Sunday:
Bath v Northampton (20:00 BST)
The winner of tonight's game will face the victor of Sunday's all-French heavyweight clash between Bordeaux Begles and Toulouse.
Bordeaux scored 64 points against Leicester and Toulouse racked up 59 against Bristol in last week's fixtures.
Where the semi-finals will be played depends on pool stage seedings so if Bordeaux win they will be at home against Bath or Saints, but if Toulouse make it through the English sides will have home country advantage with the game to be held at Stadium MK, Milton Keynes.
The semis take place over the weekend of 2-3 May and the final will be held at the San Mames Stadium in Bilbao on Saturday, 23 May.
Bath v Northampton (20:00 BST)
Alex Cuthbert
Champions Cup winner with Exeter on BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra
We have the two top teams in the Prem up against each other. It looks like an absolute ding-dong.
We are in for a treat and I can't wait. This is knockout rugby at the highest level. Northampton will play their own way while Bath know they have to stop them early on.
Bath v Northampton (20:00 BST)
Image source, Getty ImagesNorthampton also won three of their four pool matches but ended up finishing second to Bordeaux Begles, who also beat them in last year's final.
Saints started off with a win on the road at Pau before hammering the Bulls 50-5 at home.
Then came a chastening 50-28 defeat in Bordeaux before they steadied the ship with a home 43-28 win over the Scarlets to progress with a home tie in the last 16.
That came last week against Castres and the French visitors were good value for their narrow half-time lead before the Saints managed to pull away late on to claim an entertaining 49-41 win.
Bath v Northampton (20:00 BST)
Image source, ShutterstockJohann van Graan's side finished top of Pool Two with three wins from their four matches.
After a home win over Munster to kick things off in December they were handed their sole defeat of the competition so far on a trip to Toulon where they were beaten 45-34.
But January's double header brought them back to form with an away win at Castres followed up by a 63-10 demolition of Edinburgh.
They were given an early scare by Saracens in last weekend's round of 16 tie before an improved second half helped them close out a 31-22 victory.
Bath v Northampton (20:00 BST)
Image source, Getty ImagesOn the one occasion these two have met this season so far, Tommy Freeman scored a hat-trick as Saints beat Bath 41-21 in the league in December.
"We took quite a bit of learning a few months ago when we played Northampton here," said Bath head coach Johann van Graan.
Northampton head coach Phil Dowson said: "It's a completely different game and psychological remit, but we'll try to replicate the things that went well that day."
They won't have to wait long to meet again as the return league fixture with Saints at home to Bath in a crunch league clash is just two weeks away on 25 April.
And then there is course the possibility of them going head to head in the Prem final at Allianz Stadium, Twickenham, on 20 June.
Bath v Northampton (20:00 BST)
Image source, ShutterstockFurbank (capt); Freeman, Hutchinson, Dingwall, Sleightholme; Smith, McParland; Fischetti, Langdon, Kundiona, Lockett, Van der Mescht, Kemeny, Pearson, Pollock.
Replacements: Wright, Iyogun, Millar-Mills, Prowse, Chick, Mitchell, Litchfield, Hendy.
Bath v Northampton (20:00 BST)
Image source, Getty ImagesEngland fly-half Fin Smith returns from concussion to start for the Saints, while scrum-half Alex Mitchell is named on the bench after recovering from the hamstring injury that ended his Six Nations prematurely.
Archie McParland takes the number nine shirt alongside Smith, while Rory Hutchinson comes in to partner Fraser Dingwall in the midfield.
Curtis Langdon and Cleopas Kundiona feature in the front row, and Tom Pearson comes in at open-side flanker to team up with Josh Kemeny and Henry Pollock in the back row.
George Hendy also returns from injury to take his place on the bench.
George Furbank, whose move to Harlequins at the end of the season was confirmed on Wednesday, leads the side from full-back.
Bath v Northampton (20:00 BST)
Image source, ShutterstockDe Glanville; Arundell, Lawrence, Redpath, Muir; Russell, Spencer (capt); Obano, Dunn, Sela, Roux, Ewels, Pepper, Underhill, Reid.
Replacements: Tuipulotu, Van Wyk, Du Toit, Molony, Hill, Van der Linde, Carreras, Barbeary.
Bath v Northampton (20:00 BST)
Image source, ShutterstockSam Underhill and Miles Reid start in the Bath back row alongside Guy Pepper, with Josh Bayliss dropping out of the matchday 23 and Alfie Barbeary moving to the bench.
Billy Sela comes into Bath's front row and Cameron Redpath takes over from Max Ojomoh in the centres.
Henry Arundell shifts to the right wing as Will Muir replaces Joe Cokanasiga in the starting line-up, while Tom de Glanville takes over at full-back with Santi Carreras named as a replacement.
Bath have a 6-2 split on the bench with forwards Kepu Tuipulotu, Francois van Wyk, Thomas du Toit, Ross Molony, Ted Hill and Barbeary able to bring considerable power to the game.
Bath v Northampton (20:00 BST)
Image source, Getty ImagesThe quarter-finals of the Champions Cup are here and we start with a cracker as the Prem's top two sides go head to head for a place in the last four.
Bath host Northampton Saints at The Rec on the banks of the River Avon as two highly-talented teams look to take one step closer towards winning a European trophy.
Both are hoping to add a second star above their badges, with Bath having won the Champions Cup in 1997-98 and Saints doing so a couple of years later in the 1999-00 season.
Kick-off is at 20:00 BST so let's fill you in on tonight's exciting contest.
