Northampton Saints 48-31 Bristol Bears: Player Ratings as Alex Mitchell shines in high-scoring thriller

Bristol broke the deadlock, a scrum penalty gave Harry Randall options left and right with Deago Bailey who crossed the whitewash. Northampton answered back with one of their own, Alex Mitchell sat waiting in the fly-half’s position from a Saints lineout with a dummy pass opened a gap to the line, Fin Smith added the extras. A flurry of tries came for the hosts; Curtis Langdon finished off a nice move from Fin Smith and Henry Pollock, next up a whole team effort stretched Bristol’s defensive line, Tommy Freeman added to his try-tally again.

End-to-end at the Gardens, Saints thought they had their bonus-point score, the TMO chalked it off for a forward pass, the visitors then going around Northampton with Kalaveti Ravouvou racing towards the try-line, not before James Ramm with a try saving tap-tackle. Two penalties from Bristol set them back 85 metres and pinned back in their own 22, once again Tommy Freeman who secured Saints’ bonus-point score. Half-time 27-12.

Saints started the second period much like the first, Tommy Freeman and Rory Hutchinson combined to hold up … stripped ball landed in Emmanuel Iyogun’s hands who walked over the paint. A quiet 15 minutes is interrupted by Juarno Augustus who barrelled through Ravouvou and Bailey to find the deck. Another quiet gap is stripped open by an explosive Gabriel Ibitoye who found space from nothing, James Williams with a third try for the Bears. Cherry on the cake for the hosts, Tom James escaped through Bristol’s line giving Henry Pollock an easy score – swan dive celebration to go with it.

Tries: 7 (Mitchell 11’, Langdon 18’, Freeman 22’, 35’, Iyogun 45’, Augustus 58’, Pollock 74’)

Conversions: 4 (Smith 11’, 18’, 45’, Hutchinson 75’)

Penalties: 1 (Smith 40’)

Yellow Cards: 0

Red Cards: 0

Starting XV: 15 James Ramm 14 Tommy Freeman 13 Fraser Dingwall© 12 Rory Hutchinson 11 Tom Litchfield 10 Fin Smith 9 Alex Mitchell 1 Emmanuel Iyogun 2 Curtis Langdon 3 Trevor Davison 4 Temo Mayanavanua 5 Alex Coles 6 Josh Kemeny 7 Henry Pollock 8 Juarno Augustus

Replacements: 16 Henry Walker 17 Tom West 18 Elliot Millar Mills 19 Tom Lockett 20 Angus Scott-Young 21 Tom James 22 Tom Seabrook 22 Will Glister

Tries: 5 (Bailey 5’, Ibitoye 38’, 77’, Williams 72’, Marmion 79’)

Conversions: 3 (MacGinty 38’, 72’, 79’)

Penalties: 0

Yellow Cards: 0

Red Cards: 0

Starting XV: 15 Rich Lane 14 Deago Bailey 13 Kalaveti Ravouvou 12 Benhard Janse van Rensburg 11 Gabriel Ibitoye 10 AJ MacGinty 9 Harry Randall 1 Ellis Genge 2 Harry Thacker 3 Max Lahiff 4 Josh Caufield 5 Joe Owen 6 Steven Luatua 7 Santiago Grondona 8 Fitz Harding (c)

Replacements: 16 Gabriel Oghre 17 Yann Thomas 18 George Kloska 19 Viliame Mata 20 Ben Grondona 21 Kieran Marmion 22 James Williams 23 Siva Naulago

Here is your revised and fully formatted Player Ratings article, with all entries consolidated into single paragraphs, consistent spacing, and rating formatting:

15. James Ramm – 8
Great under the high ball at fullback with plenty of line breaks—exactly what would have been asked of him.

14. Tommy Freeman – 8
Scored a brace despite a quiet game; continuously physical in contact and reliable on both sides of the ball.

13. Fraser Dingwall (c) – 8
Strong in a physical game with multiple heavy shots; brought off early for a HIA but made his presence known.

12. Rory Hutchinson – 8
Worked well alongside Dingwall, putting in big shots and helping win the midfield battle.

11. Tom Litchfield – 7.5
Good work on the wing but lacked the edge to consistently break through Bristol’s line.

10. Fin Smith – 8
Pulled the strings masterfully alongside Mitchell; strong kicking from the tee and helped control the tempo.

9. Alex Mitchell – 9
MOTM performance featuring a monster 50-22 for 75 metres, a try from his trademark fake pass at the ruck base, and rapid service—immense showing.

1. Emmanuel Iyogun – 8
Scored a try and put in a powerful shift, particularly strong at scrum time with dominant collisions.

2. Curtis Langdon – 8
Solid at the set piece and contributed physically all game, matching the intensity of his front-row partners.

3. Elliot Millar Mills – 8
Late addition to the squad but delivered with multiple line breaks, strong carries, and a solid scrum showing.

4. Temo Mayanavanua – 8
Dominated in the air and made a series of impactful hits, continuing his strong form.

5. Alex Coles – 8
Matched his second-row partner in the air and made some excellent line breaks with strong physicality.

6. Josh Kemeny – 8
Threat across the pitch and especially dominant in midfield; played with great presence and energy.

7. Henry Pollock – 8
Scored yet again and was a constant livewire at the breakdown, always hunting for turnover opportunities.

8. Juarno Augustus – 8
A typically physical display, highlighted by a try where he bounced off two tacklers—he’ll be missed at the Gardens.

15. Rich Lane – 6.5
Struggled under the high ball and didn’t impact the game as much as he would have hoped.

14. Deago Bailey – 7.5
Opened the scoring to set the tone early, but his high-ball work cost Bristol some valuable metres.

13. Kalaveti Ravouvou – 7.5
A consistent attacking threat, stretching the Saints’ defence and regularly getting around it.

12. Benhard Janse van Rensburg – 6.5
A quiet outing with only a few noticeable line breaks—needed to assert himself more.

11. Gabriel Ibitoye – 7.5
A spark in attack even when Bristol were under pressure, showcasing his footwork and pace.

10. AJ MacGinty – 6.5
Decent from the tee but couldn’t spark much in open play to get Bristol ticking.

9. Harry Randall – 6.5
Matched MacGinty in struggling to get the Bears’ attack flowing despite tidy basics.

1. Ellis Genge – 6.5
Strong in the scrum and made several good carries but couldn’t consistently break the line.

2. Harry Thacker – 6.5
Solid set-piece work but limited involvement otherwise—quiet by his standards.

3. Max Lahiff – 6
Looked strong in the scrum and made some line breaks but was brought off early due to injury.

4. Josh Caulfied – 6.5
Good in the air and made a few heavy tackles, though not a standout performance overall.

5. Joe Owen – 6.5
Reliable in the air but let down by multiple handling errors that broke attacking momentum.

6. Steven Luatua – 6.5
In his 150th game for the Bears, showed experience at the breakdown and in defence.

7. Santiago Grondona – 6.5
Decent at the breakdown but lacked significant impact elsewhere on the field.

8. Fitz Harding (c) – 6.5
Worked hard at the breakdown but was unable to dominate or influence the game heavily.

Phil Dowson’s to his sides’ win – “I thought we played well, the Leinster game on the horizon which could have interfered with the preparation but it didn’t, I thought we were very professional and executed really well.”

The dawning Champions Cup semi-final – despite being sat in eight in the Premiership, Saints have marched on in Europe and now face Leinster in the Champions Cup semi-final in Dublin, but what will it take for Northampton to beat red-hot Leinster? Dowson said: “We’re obviously going to have to play very well and the only thing we can focus on is our preparation. We understand the copious level of threats that Leinster have, we had that experience last year and they’re probably better than they were last year, we have to get stuck in.”

Alex Mitchell on the importance on the result – “I think we had a decent performance last week against Newcastle and we needed one this week to keep that momentum going, we don’t really play well when we have a week off before a big game, so to build that momentum is going to give us a lot of confidence going into next week which will be good.”

Pat Lam’s reaction to his sides’ loss – “We started well and then coughed up some easy position and gave away some soft tries, obviously we had one cancelled out. I actually thought some of the decision making was good but the execution was poor we had some back-to-back penalties, they just got too many opportunities in our own half.”

Bristol’s bonus point score – despite the result the Bears still walked away with a try-bonus point, Pat Lam said: “To get that bonus point was massive, that’s what I said to the boys, I know they all have personal pride but I loved the way they stayed tight and kept pushing. It’s crucial because now we’ve finished round 15, we’re still in the top 4.”