In a heart-stopping finale, England fly-half Fin Smith scored a last-minute try to propel Northampton Saints to a 35-28 triumph over Exeter Chiefs at Sandy Park on Saturday. The match seemed destined for a draw after replacement winger Paul Brown-Bampoe's charge-down try in the 78th minute, which was converted by Henry Slade.
However, Smith's clever dummy allowed him to glide over the line, shattering the Chiefs' hopes and securing a vital win for the Premiership leaders. 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 - and I think we're good at it." The Saints' victory was a testament to their unwavering belief and attacking prowess. Exeter had initially taken the lead with a try from Immanuel Feyi-Waboso after just 82 seconds, and later doubled their advantage with a try from Will Rigg. Northampton fought back, with tries from Alex Mitchell and Ollie Sleightholme, to level the score at 14-14 by half-time. The second half was marked by a cagey affair, until Campbell Ridl's try put the Chiefs back in front.
However, Smith's late heroics sealed the win for the Saints. Meanwhile, in other Premiership matches, Bath thrashed Harlequins 48-15, with Santi Carreras scoring two tries, and Leicester annihilated Newcastle 62-3, with Gabriel Hamer-Webb touching down five times.