Late Smith Try Seals Thrilling Northampton Victory Over Exeter

England fly-half Fin Smith scored a last-minute try to give Northampton Saints a thrilling 35-28 win over Exeter Chiefs at Sandy Park. The match seemed destined for a draw after replacement winger Paul Brown-Bampoe scored a charge-down try in the 78th minute, but Smith's dummy and subsequent try broke Exeter's hearts. Northampton's director of rugby, Paul Dowson, praised his team's determination, saying, "We stuck at it again in what was another proper game... We've got a lot of trust in our attacking system." Exeter had started strongly, with England flyer Immanuel Feyi-Waboso scoring a try after just 82 seconds, and they doubled their lead five minutes later through centre Will Rigg. However, Northampton fought back, with tries from Alex Mitchell and Ollie Sleightholme, and the teams were level at 14-14 at halftime. The second half was cagey until Campbell Ridl scored Exeter's third try, but Smith's late heroics sealed the win for Northampton. Elsewhere, Santi Carreras scored two tries as Bath ran out 48-15 winners over Harlequins, while Gabriel Hamer-Webb touched down five times in Leicester's 62-3 thrashing of Newcastle.