Northampton crowned Prem champions after Hendy’s double sees off Exeter

A fast and furious Prem season was never going to end with a dull whimper. And when the dust finally settled on another frenetic encounter it was Northampton who stood tallest, propelled to their second domestic title in three years by two tries inside four minutes from their red-haired wing George Hendy, the player who also set up Alex Mitchell’s clinching try in his side’s 2024 victory over Bath.

It was not always the most error-free of games, but the helter-skelter action was never less than compelling. Exeter had edged in front thanks to a 51st-minute score from their captain, Dafydd Jenkins, with Northampton down to 14 men after Josh Kemeny’s yellow card. They reckoned without the energy of Henry Pollock and Hendy’s double whammy that propelled Saints over the line in a rugged encounter on a sweltering afternoon.

For a while it appeared the outcome might hinge on a fabulous last-ditch tackle by Campbell Ridl on Mitchell when the England scrum-half looked absolutely certain to score. Saints also had to deal with some ferocious Chiefs tackling, with the Wallaby Len Ikitau leading the charge. It cramped Northampton’s style to such a degree they could seldom replicate the flowing attacking rugby that drove them to the top of the regular season table.

When it mattered, though, they found something resembling a second wind, possibly driven on by a desire to give a suitable send-off to their captain, George Furbank, who is heading to Harlequins this summer. Fittingly, it was Furbank who hoisted the new, heavier trophy into the south-west London sky, although as he acknowledged there was more than a touch of relief at the final whistle.

At times it seemed as though the underdogs of Exeter might just prevail. Having battled their way past Leicester, Saracens and Bath en route to final, the big question was whether they still had enough energy in their legs. And how well they could start.

It was distinctly sub-optimal, then, when Ollie Woodburn and Manny Feyi-Waboso got in each other’s way and Tommy Freeman was presented with the simplest of tries inside the first two minutes. Nothing much else went Exeter’s way initially, with the early loss of their hooker, Max Norey, to a lower leg injury another untimely blow.

Alex Mitchell loses the ball while trying to ground it for a Northampton try. Photograph: Rachel Le Poidevin/PPAUK/Shutterstock

Soon enough, though, the momentum shifted significantly. Freeman wide on the right threw a hopeful offload infield that was snaffled by Ikitau who released Ridl for a 45-metre sprint to the line.

Chiefs could easily have scored again, with Stephen Varney hauled down just short and then Slade being nudged aside at the crucial moment as he appeared set to complete a kick-and-chase try.

Saints lost the influential Archie McParland to injury in a crazily fluctuating opening quarter and would have scored a second try themselves had Hendy thrown a slightly more accurate inside pass to Furbank with the line wide open. The pace was relentless until a water break on 20 minutes gave the sides a much-needed opportunity to catch their collective breath.

It was certainly warm enough to justify a drink, but it took a while for the game to recapture its previous electricity. While Joseph Dweba did come close to capitalising on a driving maul it was Saints who scored next, Fin Smith slicing through to score and adding the conversion.

George Hendy goes over for a try despite Campbell Ridl’s last-ditch tackle, Saints’ second score in three thrilling minutes. Photograph: Phil Mingo/PPAUK/Shutterstock

Exeter needed to make their hard physical work pay and did so a minute before the interval. It was not especially pretty, with Dweba’s five-metre lineout throw sailing over its intended target, but the ball fell obligingly into the hands of the unmarked Josh Iosefa-Scott who turned and crashed over.

It would have narrowed the half-time gap to two points had Slade landed the relatively straightforward conversion, but the kick sailed wide, prompting the England centre to do some impromptu kicking practice as everyone else headed for the dressing rooms.

Exeter also badly needed to improve their lineout stats, having won two of their five first-half throw-ins. But Dweba’s first effort of the second half also went astray and Northampton would have taken advantage had Tom Litchfield’s attempted scoring pass to Rory Hutchinson not gone forward.

It felt significant, then, when Exeter went ahead for the first time with just under half an hour to play through the charging Jenkins. This time Slade slotted the conversion and gave Exeter a three-point cushion.

Jenkins’s yellow card for an upright challenge on Furbank looked a tad harsh, but it was not the only reason his side lost momentum. Did they ultimately just run out of gas? As some of their big forwards began to slow down, it certainly looked that way. Pollock, otherwise excellent, sailed close to the wind with a fractionally early challenge on Ridl, but Hendy’s athletic double ensured Northampton’s ‘Shoe Army’ went marching in again.

It put the seal on a season that has restored some faith in the financially battered English domestic game. The number of Bath and Leicester fans around the stadium underlined that when the quality of the entertainment is good enough it is worth watching even when your team has been knocked out. For that fact alone we should all be grateful.