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 allowed him to coast over the line and break Chiefs' hearts.
Northampton's director of rugby, Paul Dowson, praised his team's perseverance, 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." Exeter had taken an early lead with a try from Immanuel Feyi-Waboso, and the hosts doubled their lead with a try from Will Rigg. However, Northampton bounced back with tries from Alex Mitchell and Ollie Sleightholme to level the score at 14-14 at half-time.
The second half was cagey until Campbell Ridl scored a try to put Exeter back in front, but Smith's late try secured the win for the Premiership leaders.