Northampton Saints have earned the right to arrive at Allianz Stadium as the side to beat, but Exeter Chiefs have been handed exactly the kind of late boost that can turn a Premiership final from a procession into a scrap.
The 2025/26 Gallagher PREM Final takes place on Saturday 20 June, with Saints facing Exeter Chiefs at Allianz Stadium, Twickenham, in a 3pm kick-off. Northampton finished top of the regular-season table and reached the final by beating Leicester Tigers 45-31, while Exeter came through a tense semi-final against Bath and now have Manny Feyi-Waboso available after his jaw injury, according to The Guardian’s injury update.
That matters because this final is not just first versus third. It is Northampton’s fluency against Exeter’s capacity to make a big occasion awkward, and the selection picture gives Rob Baxter a far more dangerous set of cards than Saints would have wanted.
Northampton’s route is cleaner, but finals rarely reward clean narratives
The official Saints guide confirms the basic shape of the week: Northampton topped the league, then punched their ticket by seeing off Leicester in a high-scoring semi-final. That gives Phil Dowson’s side the clearest regular-season case, and it also explains why much of the pre-final framing has placed Saints in the favourites’ lane.
There is logic in that. Northampton have the tempo to stretch Exeter, the confidence of a home semi-final win, and enough back-line variation to punish any loose kicking game. ReadRugbyUnion has already looked at how the Northampton-Exeter balance changes the final, and that is still the central question: can Saints keep the match fast enough to make Exeter chase?
The danger is assuming the cleaner route equals the cleaner final. Premiership finals are often decided by field position, set-piece pressure and one broken defensive read rather than by the side with the prettier league table. Exeter will know that better than most.
Feyi-Waboso and Roots change Exeter’s threat profile
Feyi-Waboso’s availability is the headline because explosive wings alter defensive behaviour even before they touch the ball. Northampton cannot simply squeeze the middle of the pitch if Exeter have a credible edge threat who can turn slow ball into momentum. Even when he is used as a decoy, he forces Saints to hold width for half a second longer.
The same report said Ethan Roots and Campbell Ridl were expected to return, which gives Exeter a broader lift than one back-three selection. Roots, in particular, changes the collision picture. If Baxter can pair harder carrying with Feyi-Waboso’s finishing threat, Exeter can ask Northampton to defend both the narrow channel and the outside lane without overcommitting to either.
That is the final’s pressure point. Saints will want rhythm; Exeter will want friction. The Chiefs do not need to dominate every phase to make this uncomfortable. They need enough gain-line success to slow Northampton’s launch plays, enough kick pressure to stop easy exits, and enough strike power to make each red-zone entry feel live.
The tactical choice facing Saints
Northampton’s temptation will be to back their season-long identity and keep the ball alive. That is still probably the right call. Moving Exeter around is the cleanest route to creating mismatches, especially if Saints can pull Baxter’s pack into repeated lateral decisions.
But Dowson’s bigger challenge is emotional rather than aesthetic. This is where the earlier Alex Mitchell bench call becomes part of the wider final equation. Bench timing, territory management and who controls the middle 20 minutes after half-time could matter more than the opening script.
The official match guide from Northampton Saints sets up a final Saints are entitled to believe they can win. The fresher Exeter team news explains why they cannot treat it like a coronation.
Northampton should still carry the sharper overall case. They have been the most consistent side across the campaign and their attacking ceiling is higher. But Exeter’s late availability boost gives this final a proper tactical edge: if Baxter’s side win the collisions early and keep Feyi-Waboso involved often enough to stretch Saints’ defensive spacing, the title race can become far tighter than the table suggests.
