Exeter Chiefs v Northampton Saints

Tired bodies littered the field from both sides as Northampton Saints claimed two late tries to take the victory over Exeter Chiefs in the Gallagher PREM Final.

The men in black, green and gold scored four tries to Chiefs’ three to win the title, having finished league leaders of the regular season.

However, Chiefs put up a valiant effort in sweltering heat at the Allianz Stadium. Having finished ninth in the league last season, they just could not make it the fairytale ending the players and supporters were dreaming of.

The first penalty of the day went to Saints when Chiefs were caught offside. Saints’ fly-half Fin Smith kicked to touch on Chiefs’ 22 where Curtis Langdon opted for a long throw to get the ball into the hands of his electric backs. A chip-kick bounced off fit-again Immanuel Feyi Waboso for his opposite winger Tommy Freeman to run in for an easy first try. Smith made sure of the conversion to make it 0-7 after three minutes played.

Chiefs lost hooker Max Norey in the ninth minute to injury seeing an early introduction of Joseph Dewba. Although there were tears on the bench, misery turned to joy as centre Len Ikitua turned defence into attack from a Freeman pass to release Campbell Ridl down the wing for a dream-come-true try for the youngster. The conversion did not go over, however, leaving Chiefs two points behind. Saints also lost scrum-half Archie McParland to injury making way for Alex Mitchell.

It looked like centre Henry Slade had set-up the dream interception as he scuffed the ball along the ground towards the try-line, but he just failed to pick it up at the last moment. Scrum-half Stephen Varney was almost over seconds later but was brought down just short with Chiefs penalised for hands in the ruck. They may have been missed chances but they showed the ambition of the Chiefs side. They had come to play.

Saints’ winger George Hendy then came close before sending an inside pass to captain George Furbank, but the ball was knocked forward leaving Chiefs with a defensive scrum on the five-metre line. Chiefs won the penalty at the scrum and the chance to take a breath as the first quarter came to a close. A Mitchell knock-on gave Saints a scrum in the more palatable place of just inside the halfway line with Varney’s follow-on 50:22 kick bouncing nicely into touch to give them the territory and possession they needed. Alas, the lineout throw found the hands of Saints’ No 8 Henry Pollack.

As play was halted for a water break, the scoreboard flashed up the statistics of the first quarter of the game with Chiefs leading the way for metres with 121 compared to 73, equal on carries (28), four breaks compared to Chiefs’ two, and 35 tackles – seven more than Saints.

After the break, a penalty for Chiefs saw Saints walked back another 10 metres for dissent while Ikitau received treatment on the ground. Slade kicked the penalty to touch for a re-run of a lineout that went awry moments earlier. This time Dweba threw to Andrea Zambonin and the drive looked good, but the ball was held up.

Saints went on the attack with lock Alex Coles finding a gap in Chiefs’ defence. As Feyi-Waboso attempted interception, the ball was knocked on and Chiefs were left packing down 10 metres from their own line. This time Chiefs could not keep the men in black, green and gold out. Multiple phases from close range saw Smith over for another five points. He kicked the conversion of his own try to make it 14-5.

The restart saw Feyi-Waboso knock on Slade’s kick for a Saints scrum just inside their own 22. Smith kicked the ensuing scrum penalty to the touchline for the lineout but Tom Litchfield dropped the pass in the next passage of play to give possession to Chiefs.

The men in white patiently recycled the ball to eat up ground with Ikitau’s inside pass to full-back Olly Woodburn looking like it would do the trick for the try. Woodburn was brought down but Chiefs already had the penalty. And although the resulting lineout did not look entirely textbook, prop Josh Iosefa-Scott was able to pick up the scraps and force his way over the try-line. Slade missed the conversion to make it 14-10 at half-time.

Saints had the better of the opening exchanges of the second half, with a chicken wing pass from Freeman looking likely to set up Saints for their next try but Chiefs’ defence held strong helped by some spills from the attacking side.

The visitors brought on new props in the 46th minute as Scott Sio left the field as a Chief for the last time. Litchfield got up a head of steam and thought he had sent fellow centre Rory Hutchison over, but the try was called back for a forward pass and a knock-on to boot. Christ Tshuninza then came on for Ethan Roots as Chiefs came back for the scrum. Another penalty at scrum-time saw Harvey Skinner kick to touch for a lineout just inside the halfway line.

The game took a turn as flanker Josh Kemney was sent to the sin-bin for a high tackle on Dafydd Jenkins. The penalty was kicked to the northeast corner for the lineout. No drive this time but rather a delightful, galloping try from Jenkins. This time Slade was good with the conversion and Chiefs took a three-point lead after 52 minutes played.

Saints also started to bring on their replacements, and it looked like JJ Van Der Mescht might go over unchecked but Chiefs defence managed to bring down his 150kg frame just in time. Alex Coles also had a go in the loose but managed to pass the ball to Mitchell to dive towards the try-line. However, the England scrum-half fumbled the ball on the line, after a try-saving tackle from Ridl, and the chance went begging. In the action that led up to that move though, the TMO spotted a high tackle from Jenkins on Furbank and the Welshman was shown a yellow card.

As the last quarter began, the tempo of the game showed no signs of slowing down. Every line-break held potential, but every tackle was made with intent. It was a question of which team would be the first to break. Freeman was the man to instigate the next meaningful attack, recruiting all his backs and Pollock to the cause before Hendy found space in the corner. Smith missed the conversion to make it 19-17 with 15 nail-biting minutes to go.

But Saints compounded the absence of Jenkins with a second try from Hendy in the same position but from a grubber kick along the touchline. This time the conversion was spot on, and the lead was extended to nine points.

Chiefs tried to hang onto possession, but they were being pushed backwards by Saints. Chiefs just could not find a way through the wall of black, green and gold as heavy legs and bursting lungs began to give way. When Saints won the penalty for Chiefs holding on, Smith opted for a kick from halfway to run the clock down.

Chiefs won a late scrum penalty with a last-chance lineout to play. Tshiunza was good for the gather, but the ball was lost in contact, leaving the ball to be kicked off field for a Saints victory.