Northampton Saints player ratings vs Exeter Chiefs: Gallagher PREM final

Saturday, 20 June 2026 at 17:01

byCharlie Elliott

Northampton Saints player ratings as they secured a second Gallagher PREM title in three years with a deserved victory over Exeter Chiefs.

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Saints made a dream start, scoring inside two minutes when Tommy Freeman capitalised on poor handling from Olly Woodburn and Immanuel Feyi-Waboso after Archie McParland’s kick through.

Exeter responded through Campbell Ridl following a counterattack sparked by Freeman’s intercepted no-look pass. Both sides traded chances in an error-strewn spell before Fin Smith extended Saints’ lead from close range after half an hour.

Just before the break, Chiefs turned down a penalty and were rewarded when Josh Iosefa-Scott scored after the ball fell to him from a lineout.

After a tense start to the second half, a disallowed Rory Hutchinson try was the only notable action until Josh Kemeny received a yellow card for head-on-head contact.

Exeter seized the advantage, with captain Dafydd Jenkins scoring from close range to give the Chiefs their first lead of the match. The game then opened up as Alex Mitchell was denied by a knock-on over the line.

Northampton regained control when George Hendy finished brilliantly in the corner twice in the space of three minutes, securing a hard-fought victory.

Scroll down for Northampton Saints player ratings.

Northampton Saints: 26

Tries: Tommy Freeman (2'), Fin Smith (32'), George Hendy (65',68')
Cons: Fin Smith (3',33',69')
Pens:
Yellow Card: Josh Kemeny (51')

Exeter Chiefs: 17

Tries: Campbell Ridl (10'), Josh Iosefa-Scott (40'), Dafydd Jenkins (52')
Cons: Henry Slade (53')
Pens
Yellow Card: Dafydd Jenkins (56')

15 George Furbank — 7.5

Furbank got his fairytale ending at Saints before his move to Harlequins next season, lifting the trophy. The fullback was solid under pressure and dealt well with everything thrown at him, but should have scored after receiving a ball inside from George Hendy, which he dropped.

14 Tommy Freeman — 7.5

Freeman opened the scoring after just less than two minutes, although it is fair to say that he didn't need to do much for it as he simply capitalised on an error. They all count though.

Tracked back well to stop a certain Stephen Varney try after catching the scrum-half and tackling him as he was closing in on the line.

Maybe not as impactful as he has been this season, but he managed to get himself up to joint-top of the try-scoring charts from the campaign with his score.

Did a needless no-look in the first half which led to Chiefs' first try.

13 Tom Litchfield — 6

Didn't manage to back up his semi-final hat-trick with any sort of meaningful impact, as he struggled to get involved and get any meaningful touches on the ball. Had a chance after breaking through out wide, but got a bit greedy before knocking the ball on as he set through Rory Hutchinson.

12 Rory Hutchinson — 6.5

Wasn't at his high standards but managed to do a solid enough job from centre. Fumbled a good opportunity before finishing well before it was disallowed by TMO for a knock on earlier on in the move.

11 George Hendy — 8

Did what all good wingers do and finished his chances. May not have been hugely involved, but made his chances count. Scored a brace in just a couple of minutes with just over 10 minutes to go, both in the same corner and both requiring strong finishing ability.

10 Fin Smith — 8.5

Such an incredibly classy player and someone who will almost certainly start for England this summer.

Smith created so many opportunities for his side, both through his hands and from his deft kicks in behind. Finished his try well from close range and just generally caused some absolute carnage that Chiefs struggled to deal with.

9 Archie McParland — N/A

Only played 11 minutes after coming off due to a knee injury, so it is hard to properly give him a score.

Given that he put the kick through that caused mayhem for Tommy Freeman to open the scoring, he still managed to put his mark on the game, albeit with less time on the pitch than he'd have wanted.

1 Emmanuel Iyogun — 7

Played just under 50 minutes as the whole Saints front row were replaced. Was pretty effective, with a few carries into contact and some tackles made. Also won a scrum penalty, so can be pretty happy with his shift.

2 Curtis Langdon — 7

Threw well from the lineout, scrummaged reasonably well against Joseph Dweba when the big South African came on the field early on and made a huge carry close to the line in the build-up to Fin Smith's try.

3 Elliot Millar Mills — 5.5

Largely ineffective in his last Saints appearance before joining Newcastle Red Bulls. No huge blemishes apart from a scrum penalty conceded on his side.

4 Alex Coles — 7.5

As has been said on many occasions this season, Coles is incredibly mobile for a player of his stature. Had a couple of decent carries and broke through on a couple of occasions. Got double digits for tackles too, in a display of great work rate.

5 Ed Prowse — 7

Ended up with a respectable 10 tackles in a 55-minute spell before he was replaced with the physical JJ van der Mescht. Bought some grit to the second row and put a good amount of pressure on at the breakdown.

6 Josh Kemeny — 6.5

Played incredibly well from a lineout perspective, absolutely dominating the skies and leading to countless Chiefs errors from Joseph Dweba's throwing. Unfortunately for Kemeny, his final will always be remembered for his needless yellow card which shifted the momentum towards Exeter.

7 Tom Pearson — 8

Played really well throughout and gave Saints a real platform through his hard defensive work. Won a couple of big penalties in the first half at the breakdown, the second of which coming on Northampton's own line just seconds after a certain Stephen Varney try was stopped.

8 Henry Pollock — 9

It is abundantly clear that Pollock's quality is in his carrying and his breakdown work, and this game proved that. Topped the carry charts from the game and while he was heavily defended at all times, he still managed to find a way through on a few occasions.

May have been slightly fortunate to avoid a card late on and he wasn't quite at his blockbuster best, but he wasn't bad by any stretch of the imagination and was awarded Player of the Match as a result.

Replacements

16 Craig Wright — 6.5

17 Danilo Fischetti — 7

18 Luke Green — 7

19 JJ van der Mescht — 7.5

20 Tom Lockett — N/A

21 Callum Chick — 6.5

22 Alex Mitchell — 6

Came on after just 11 minutes due to Archie McParland's injury, to return from an absence of his own. Looked rusty and played poorly, no more so than when he dropped a golden opportunity right as he was about to put the ball down for a certain try.

Tactically off it, and didn't manage to do much of note in nearly 70 minutes on the pitch.

23 Fraser Dingwall — 6.5

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