Late Smith Try Seals Thrilling Northampton Victory

In a heart-stopping finale, England fly-half Fin Smith scored a last-minute try to propel Northampton Saints to a 35-28 win over Exeter Chiefs at Sandy Park. The hosts had taken an early lead with tries from Immanuel Feyi-Waboso and Will Rigg, but the Saints fought back with scores from Alex Mitchell and Ollie Sleightholme to level the game at 14-14 by halftime. The second half was closely contested until Campbell Ridl put the Chiefs ahead, only for Smith to break their hearts with his late winner. Northampton's director of rugby, Paul Dowson, praised his team's resilience and attacking flair, saying, 'We stuck at it again in what was another proper game... We've got a lot of trust in our attacking system and we have that intent to go and try and score.' Elsewhere, Santi Carreras led Bath to a convincing 48-15 victory over Harlequins, running in two tries and kicking a conversion as Bath reinforced their second place in the Premiership table. Meanwhile, Leicester enhanced their Premiership Rugby charge with a thumping 62-3 victory over Newcastle, with Gabriel Hamer-Webb touching down five times to help his team celebrate their 5000th game in style.