Northampton Saints player ratings as they secured a second Gallagher PREM title in three years with a deserved victory over Exeter Chiefs.
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Saints made a dream start, scoring inside two minutes when Tommy Freeman capitalised on poor handling from Olly Woodburn and Immanuel Feyi-Waboso after Archie McParland’s kick through.
Exeter responded through Campbell Ridl following a counterattack sparked by Freeman’s intercepted no-look pass. Both sides traded chances in an error-strewn spell before Fin Smith extended Saints’ lead from close range after half an hour.
Just before the break, Chiefs turned down a penalty and were rewarded when Josh Iosefa-Scott scored after the ball fell to him from a lineout.
After a tense start to the second half, a disallowed Rory Hutchinson try was the only notable action until Josh Kemeny received a yellow card for head-on-head contact.
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Exeter seized the advantage, with captain Dafydd Jenkins scoring from close range to give the Chiefs their first lead of the match. The game then opened up as Alex Mitchell was denied by a knock-on over the line.
Northampton regained control when George Hendy finished brilliantly in the corner twice in the space of three minutes, securing a hard-fought victory.
Scroll down for Northampton Saints player ratings.
Northampton Saints: 26
- Tries: Tommy Freeman (2′), Fin Smith (32′), George Hendy (65′,68′)
- Cons: Fin Smith (3′,33′,69′)
- Pens:
- Yellow Card: Josh Kemeny (51′)
Exeter Chiefs: 17
- Tries: Campbell Ridl (10′), Josh Iosefa-Scott (40′), Dafydd Jenkins (52′)
- Cons: Henry Slade (53′)
- Pens
- Yellow Card: Dafydd Jenkins (56′)
15 George Furbank — 7.5
Furbank got his fairytale ending at Saints before his move to Harlequins next season, lifting the trophy. The fullback was solid under pressure and dealt well with everything thrown at him, but should have scored after receiving a ball inside from George Hendy, which he dropped.
14 Tommy Freeman — 7.5
Freeman opened the scoring after just less than two minutes, although it is fair to say that he didn’t need to do much for it as he simply capitalised on an error. They all count though.
Tracked back well to stop a certain Stephen Varney try after catching the scrum-half and tackling him as he was closing in on the line.
Maybe not as impactful as he has been this season, but he managed to get himself up to joint-top of the try-scoring charts from the campaign with his score.
Did a needless no-look in the first half which led to Chiefs’ first try.
13 Tom Litchfield — 6
Didn’t manage to back up his semi-final hat-trick with any sort of meaningful impact, as he struggled to get involved and get any meaningful touches on the ball. Had a chance after breaking through out wide, but got a bit greedy before knocking the ball on as he set through Rory Hutchinson.
12 Rory Hutchinson — 6.5
Wasn’t at his high standards but managed to do a solid enough job from centre. Fumbled a good opportunity before finishing well before it was disallowed by TMO for a knock on earlier on in the move.
11 George Hendy — 8
Did what all good wingers do and finished his chances. May not have been hugely involved, but made his chances count. Scored a brace in just a couple of minutes with just over 10 minutes to go, both in the same corner and both requiring strong finishing ability.
10 Fin Smith — 8.5
Such an incredibly classy player and someone who will almost certainly start for England this summer.
Smith created so many opportunities for his side, both through his hands and from his deft kicks in behind. Finished his try well from close range and just generally caused some absolute carnage that Chiefs struggled to deal with.
9 Archie McParland — N/A
Only played 11 minutes after coming off due to a knee injury, so it is hard to properly give him a score.
Given that he put the kick through that caused mayhem for Tommy Freeman to open the scoring, he still managed to put his mark on the game, albeit with less time on the pitch than he’d have wanted.
