Ben Kay draws parallels between Bath and successful Saracens side ahead of Gallagher Premiership final

Former England forward Ben Kay believes there are "huge similarities" between Bath and the recently dominant Saracens side, heading into their Gallagher Premiership final against Northampton Saints, live on TNT Sports and discovery+.

Sarries won three Investec Champions Cup titles in four seasons between 2016 and 2019, and claimed the most recent of their six Gallagher Premiership titles last season.

Bath powered their way past the Sale Sharks last weekend to set up a clash with the table-topping Saints at Twickenham on Saturday, and Kay explained how a win over Saints could lead to a similar period of success.

“There's huge similarities between Saracens before they became good, and Bath over the last few seasons that have had a big-money backer that hasn’t had the return on his investment that you would have expected,” he told TNT Sports.

“Then suddenly, you put a South African coach [Johann van Graan] in there, who binds everything together and tries to make more of a family feels to the club and very quickly starts to find success.

“I could see Bath in particular, going on from here.

“I make Northampton favourites, but I could see Bath – even if they lost this weekend – learning from that and kicking on being there with the strength and depth that they've got, for a number of years.”

Kay explained that Northampton are heading into a transitional period with the likes of Courtney Lawes, Lewis Ludlam and Alex Moon all set to leave the club this summer. However, he still expects them to continue battling it out at the top end of the table.

“It's difficult for Northampton because they're losing such key players,” Kay explained.

“The captain, Lewis Ludlam is leaving, as is Courtney Lawes and Alex Moon.

“Those are some big players that they're losing. Having said that, the ones apart from Lawes, the ones that have really set them out this season from everyone else, are staying.

“It's going to be fascinating, but certainly you could see both these teams being in the top four for the next four or five seasons.”

Kay also spoke glowingly of Courtney Lawes, who will leave Northampton after 17 seasons to join French side CA Brive.

“Courtney's been probably my favourite player over the last few seasons, especially as he's been a one club man that has come through the academy and given so much to them," he said.

“He's had his injury problems in the last few years, but even that hasn't dented his ability to show up at key times and recover quickly.

“He's just he's been the ultimate player for them. I think he does everything; he's a Swiss Army knife, good lineout forward, hits people hard and carries the ball well.

“But what makes the difference in the team is four or five momentum-changing moments every game.

“He does his job, and he does it well, but it’s those big moments when they're under pressure, and he makes a turnover at the breakdown, steals a lineout or tracks back 70 metres and makes a try-saving tackle in the corner.

“That's the thing that you can build a whole team around.”

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