George Hendy scored two late tries as Northampton Saints beat Exeter Chiefs 28-17 at Twickenham to win the Gallagher Premiership final.
Northampton were pushed hard by Exeter, who led 17-14 after the hour mark before the final swung on Dafydd Jenkins’ yellow card and Saints’ sharper finishing. Hendy’s quickfire double turned the contest decisively, with Fin Smith and Tommy Freeman also central to Northampton’s title-winning performance.
The result confirms Northampton as English club rugby’s champions after a tense final that tested their patience as much as their attack, according to The Times’ report from Twickenham.
Hendy finish gives Saints a final-day edge
Exeter’s resistance made the match far tighter than the final scoreline suggests. The Chiefs forced Northampton into mistakes, took their chance through the middle phase of the game and briefly looked capable of turning the final into a major upset.
Hendy changed that rhythm. His late tries arrived when Northampton finally found space against 14 men, giving the Saints the clean break they had spent most of the contest trying to create.
Henry Pollock’s man-of-the-match display also mattered, particularly in the closing stages, when his physical work helped Northampton protect the lead and finish the season with silverware.
For Northampton supporters, the final also underlined the value of a young match-winner stepping up when the pressure peaked.
