Northampton Saints director of rugby Jim Mallinder has praised his players following their narrow victory over Bath.

The Saints ended Bath's winning start to the new Aviva Premiership season on Saturday thanks to a 31-24 triumph at Franklin's Gardens.

"We played some good rugby," Mallinder told the club's official website. "For the first 55 minutes we worked our way into a good lead, and then maybe switched off a bit.

"When you score four tries against Bath that's good going. Where I was disappointed was in how we let them back into the game, and that's one thing we need to sharpen up on."

Northampton are back in action next Saturday with a trip to London Irish in the league.