Northampton Saints started the new PREM season in style with a thumping 59–21 win over Newcastle Red Bulls at Franklin’s Gardens.
James Pater crossed twice inside the opening 14 minutes as Saints flew out of the blocks. George Hendy and Tommy Freeman followed before Alex Coles secured the bonus point just before half-time.
Saints led 31–14 at the break and showed no signs of slowing down.
Freeman crossed twice more after the restart to complete his hat-trick, while Ollie Sleightholme added another with seven minutes remaining.
Pater then grabbed his third in the 76th minute to complete a hat-trick of his own and take Saints close to 60 points.
Fin Smith kicked five conversions, with Anthony Belleau adding two late on.
Christian Wade scored twice for Newcastle, while Cam Jordan grabbed their other try.
Saints simply had too much firepower, running in nine tries on an impressive opening night.
Northampton Saints 59
Tries: Pater (3’, 14’, 76'), Hendy (22’), Freeman (24’, 48’,61'), Coles (39’), Sleightholme (73')
Conversions: F Smith (4’, 23’, 40’, 49’, 62'), Belleau (74,77')
Newcastle Red Bulls 26
Tries: Wade (11’, 38’), Jordan (57'), Kok (79')
Conversions: Connon (12’), Henry (39’, 58')
Half-time: Northampton Saints 31–14 Newcastle Red BullsVenue: Franklin’s Gardens
Player of the match – Tommy Freeman
Best winger in the world right now? He’s certainly making a strong case.
A fifth PREM hat-trick for the England flier, who spent most of the evening making scoring tries look suspiciously easy.
Pace, power, finishing. The lot.
In hindsight, Steve Borthwick playing him at centre for England should probably be investigated.
Biggest underperformer – Pouri Rakete-Stones
A former All Black who is England-qualified, so I was expecting a little more.
There’s clearly a quality player in there, but this wasn't his finest afternoon. He can probably file it under ‘dress rehearsal’ ahead of Newcastle's first home game against Leicester next weekend.
The yellow card was harsh, mind. Even his bad day probably didn't deserve that.
Player to watch – Henry Pollock
Could it really be anyone else?
Fresh from debuting a bold new look, Pollock was once again at the heart of pretty much everything Saints did.
Newcastle were much improved, but still far too generous defensively, and Pollock didn't need asking twice.
New hair, same Henry Pollock. Absolutely everywhere.
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Northampton Saints vs Newcastle Red Bulls player ratings
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Northampton Saints player ratings
15. James Pater – 9/10
14. Tommy Freeman – 9/10
13. Rory Hutchinson – 7/10
12. Fraser Dingwall (c) – 7/10
11. George Hendy – 7/10
10. Fin Smith – 8/10
9. Archie McParland – 8/10
1. Emmanuel Iyogun – 8/10
2. Curtis Langdon – 7/10
3. Cleopas Kundiona – 7/10
4. Alex Coles – 8/10
5. Ed Prowse – 7/10
6. Josh Kemeny – 7/10
7. Henry Pollock – 9/10
8. Callum Chick – 8/10
Newcastle Red Bulls player ratings
15. Harrison Obatoyinbo – 5/10
14. Christian Wade – 7/10
13. Alex Hearle – 4/10
12. Chris Harris – 4/10
11. Werner Kok – 8/10
10. Brett Connon – 5/10
9. James Elliott – 6/10
1. Pouri Rakete-Stones – 5/10
2. George McGuigan – 6/10
3. Elliot Millar Mills – 5/10
4. Oscar Usher – 5/10
5. Cam Jordan – 6/10
6. Max Hicks – 5/10
7. Tom Christie (c) – 6/10
8. Sam Graham – 6/10
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