Northampton Saints player ratings vs Leicester Tigers: Gallagher PREM semi-final

Friday, 12 June 2026 at 21:47

byCharlie Elliott

Northampton Saints player ratings from a breathless 45-31 derby win over Leicester Tigers that sees them qualify for the Gallagher PREM final at Allianz Stadium next week.

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A pulsating and end-to-end first half saw the hosts take the lead, get pegged back, then take the lead again after having the bulk of the play, but they were never really being able to get away from a resilient Tigers team.

The game didn't slow down in the second, as again Saints kept going close, dominating the play but not quite having the cutting edge to completely put Leicester out of sight.

A couple of disallowed tries didn't help things for the hosts, but they just about managed to get over the line and book themselves a place at Allianz Stadium next week with a 14-point victory over their Midlands neighbours.

Northampton Saints: 45

Tries: Tom Litchfield (2',17',40'), Tommy Freeman (20'), George Furbank (44',75'), Archie McParland (67')
Cons: Fin Smith (2',17',21',45',67')
Pens:
Yellow card: Craig Wright (77')

Leicester Tigers: 31

Tries: Hanro Liebenberg (7'), Freddie Steward (13'), Ollie Hassell-Collins (36',71'), Orlando Bailey (48')
Cons: Billy Searle (13',37',49')
Pens:

15 George Furbank — 8

In his final home game for the club before departing in the summer, Furbank started off fairly slow but managed to grow into the game. The second half saw him mark the occasion with a well taken try from close range, where he had momentum on his side and latched onto a tidy offload.

14 Tommy Freeman — 8.5

As seen on plenty of occasions this season, Freeman absolutely ruled the right wing. He scored his side's third try of the evening after composing himself to control a well-weighted Fin Smith kick and just about put it down.

Was unfortunate to not get an assist for Henry Pollock after another nice dribble following a kick chase, as TMO intervened. Could perhaps be considered to have been a bit weak in defending Ollie Hassell-Collins for his try, although he wasn't in a great position one-on-one out wide.

13 Tom Litchfield — 9

Came off to a standing ovation after a first half hat-trick that sent his side well on their way. Although his departure was slightly timely, he had a very positive impact on the game, even without considering his three scores.

Started the scoring by finding a brilliant line to break through, added a second by latching onto a kick through that was dropped by Freddie Steward, and got his third from close range, breaking a tackle from opposite number Will Wand in the process.

Litchfield's support running is very impressive and he seems to have developed massively as a player this year, culminating in this performance.

12 Rory Hutchinson — 8

The Scotland international wasn't massively involved, yet still managed to come up with a couple of key moments. It was his kick through that caused chaos that Freddie Steward failed to deal with for one of Litchfield's score, and he produced a brilliant behind the back offload just before Furbank's score to open the second half.

11 George Hendy — 5.5

Had the least involvement of any of the Saints backs, and although he kept Adam Radwan quiet, which is commendable, he didn't offer much in attack. Not his best day, as he found himself beaten in the air a few times and didn't get into much space.

10 Fin Smith — 8

Clearly still playing with confidence and was almost flawless from the tee, which in the end proved to be a huge difference. Did unbelievable to slip a tackle, break the line and kick through under pressure from Ollie Chessum to assist Freeman's try.

Dictated play and tactically kicked very well, culminating in a perfectly weighted kick out wide to Freeman in the lead up to Furbank's late score to finally secure the game. Turned up when it mattered.

9 Archie McParland — 8

Still has Northampton playing as if England starter Alex Mitchell was still around, which is a huge testament to how well the youngster has stepped up in recent weeks, and especially in such a big game.

Provided a great speed of service throughout the evening and was key in starting the first try with Henry Pollock. Really, really solid and was rewarded with a try 13 minutes from time, which proved to be the winner.

1 Emmanuel Iyogun — 5.5

Iyogun had a bit of a mixed bag, as Saints' scrum was far from perfect, including a penalty conceded by him against Joe Heyes. Was slightly fortunate to avoid a yellow card for head-on-head contact, although given the lack of severity of contact, a penalty was probably the right decision.

2 Curtis Langdon — 7.5

Lineout throwing was very solid, even if a few were nearly intercepted it was an almost perfect shift from him. Langdon's only throwing blemish came just before he came off on 53 minutes. Aside from that, he put himself about and worked hard.

3 Elliot Millar Mills — 6.5

Not hugely involved in proceedings but was extremely close to getting himself a try before it was chalked out by TMO. Solid, but not perfect scrummaging, however did what he needed to. Produced a lovely offload uncharacteristic of a prop in the first half.

4 Alex Coles — 7.5

Incredibly mobile for his position and got plenty of touches on the ball, using both his physicality and turn of pace to disrupt the Tigers defence. Was a great mix of physicality and deftness, and was key.

5 Ed Prowse — 7.5

Brought a lot of energy and worked incredibly hard, getting round the pitch well and putting in a lot of the graft work that often goes unnoticed. As has been seen for large parts of the season, him and Coles work very well together and compliment each other's strengths. Solid, albeit he won't steal any headlines.

6 Josh Kemeny — 7

Put in some very good defensive graft across the course of the game and did a lot of the dirty work to provide a platform for the electric backs. Played with lots of composure, no more so than when he slipped a few tackles in the backfield to relieve pressure.

7 Tom Pearson — 7.5

Didn't do lots of noticeable work, but like a lot of the forward pack set the tone, didn't allow Tigers to have much, slowed down their breakdown and was overall very effective. Will be happy with the job that he did.

8 Henry Pollock — 8

Pollock lives for these occasions and really flourished, aided by the fact that he was given the ball in a lot of space a number of times.

Made a lot of metres in contact from an incredible 26 carries and produced plenty of hard work on the floor, both things which are key parts of his game.

Scored a try before it was disallowed, which would have been the icing on the cake.