Northampton’s matchwinner George Hendy has been hailed as a player of international class after helping his side win their second English domestic title in three seasons. The uncapped Hendy struck twice inside four minutes in the second half to stake a late claim for a place in England’s Nations Championship squad which will be named on Monday.
Hendy was also the man who set up Saints’ winning try against Bath in the Prem final two years ago and his club captain, George Furbank, believes the 23-year-old wing is as good a finisher as anyone around. “He’s a pretty special player,” said Furbank, who will be leaving Northampton to join Harlequins this summer. “He’s one of those guys who can pull things out of the hat. He scores tries that potentially no one else in the league and potentially in the world can score. He’s someone you want on your team. He’s obviously quality and that’s two finals now in which he’s performed on the big stage.”
Furbank also admitted to a wide range of emotions after his side’s hard fought 26-17 victory over Exeter Chiefs. “It was a mix of relief, happiness and sadness all merged into one. It’s been a pretty emotional few weeks, to be honest. It’s tough when it’s your last game for a club that means so much to you. It’s been a hell of a journey. I owe a lot to a lot of people for that journey. I’ve loved my time here and to finish this way is incredibly special.”
The man of the match, Henry Pollock, was similarly ecstatic to collect a winner’s medal, describing it as “something you dream of as a little kid”. In a game with two yellow cards for high tackles, the England flanker dodged any punishment for a slightly early hit on the Exeter wing Campbell Ridl but Rob Baxter, Chiefs’ director of rugby, said afterwards that the officials had performed well.
“These things happen,” said Baxter. “I thought the ref was great around head contact today. He looked for mitigating factors and found them. The first thing you have to do in a final is to congratulate the opposition. The reality is that Northampton have had a great season.
“I’m not going to be too critical. Our lineout wasn’t at the level it needs to be, we missed a few tackles in the middle of the field but what more can I ask? The game has come down to a couple of moments. I don’t want to be picky on our performance. It would be wrong.”
His captain, Dafydd Jenkins, who scored Exeter’s third try before being sent to the sin-bin, also took consolation from Exeter’s impressive season having finished ninth last year. “I think we’ve seen an immense amount of growth from last season,” said Jenkins. “We’re going to have to learn from today and get that extra bit out of ourselves to lift the trophy next year. You’ve got to use this feeling as motivation. We’ll be back.”
England’s head coach, Steve Borthwick, will be awaiting an update on the fitness of Saints’ scrum-half Archie McParland, who suffered a deep gash just above his knee early in the game. Manny Feyi-Waboso also needed stitches just above his left eye but will be available for England duty this summer, as will Alex Mitchell, who made a timely comeback in the final from a torn hamstring.