Northampton beat Exeter to win Prem Rugby title

Northampton beat Exeter to win Prem Rugby titleImage source, Getty ImagesImage caption, England A winger George Hendy took his tally to 18 tries in all competitions for Northampton this seasonByBrent PilnickBBC Sport England at Allianz Stadium, TwickenhamPublished20 June 2026, 17:00 BST20 CommentsUpdated 2 minutes agoThe Prem finalNorthampton (14) 26Tries: Freeman, Smith, Hendy 2 Cons: Smith 3 Exeter (10) 17Tries: Ridl, Iosefa-Scott, Jenkins Cons: SladeGeorge Hendy's two tries in three second-half minutes secured Northampton the Prem title as they beat Exeter 26-17 in the final at Allianz Stadium.Hendy's scores inside the final quarter opened up a nip and tuck game as Saints won the title for a third time. Tommy Freeman capitalised on an Exeter error to put Saints ahead inside two minutes before Campbell Ridl hit back in an all-action opening. Fin Smith's try put Saints back in front only for Josh Iosefa-Scott to go over seconds before the interval as Exeter cut the gap to four points.Northampton's Josh Kemeny was sin-binned after 51 minutes, with Exeter skipper Dafydd Jenkins going over to give his side the lead moments later.Jenkins was yellow-carded himself five minutes later and, with an extra player, Hendy's 64th-minute try put Saints in front again before getting his second moments later.Saints strike early, but Exeter respondImage source, Getty ImagesImage caption, Tommy Freeman's early try stunned ExeterThe occasion appeared to get to Exeter as they suffered the worst possible start when the fit-again Feyi-Waboso bumped into Olly Woodburn, who was catching Archie McParland's dinked kick towards the Exeter corner, and Freeman snaffled up the loose ball before diving in. Henry Pollock was held up over the Exeter line five minutes later as Northampton – backed by a noisy crowd from the East Midlands – adapted to the big day better than the Chiefs.Exeter's nightmare opening was compounded when in-form hooker Max Norey limp...