Hendy: Saints aim to put down marker against Exeter Chiefs

George Hendy hopes Northampton Saints can put down a marker with their improved physicality for the rest of the season when Exeter Chiefs visit cinch Stadium at Franklin’s Gardens on Sunday (kick-off: 3pm).

The men in Black, Green and Gold flexed their muscles in the second-half arm wrestle with Bath last Saturday to win for a second successive week.

Their resolve will be firmly tested once more in Round Five, as the early Gallagher Premiership pacesetters arrive seeking a fourth win of the campaign.

“It will be a big challenge,” said Hendy. “Exeter are a big, physical team. They pride themselves on that. They’ve dominated a few teams this season.

“Hopefully we will be looking to bring that physicality that’s been growing since the start of this season, and make other teams look at how physical we are and not just how dangerous we are with ball in hand.”

The 21-year-old back, along with the rest of his teammates, was tasked with adding muscle mass in the summer and has grafted his way to 5kg of gains in the gym.

He flew out the blocks with tries in three successive Premiership Rugby Cup games, and grabbed his first Premiership try this term with a crucial score against Bath last weekend.

“That [adding muscle] was a massive focus for me this pre-season,” the 21-year-old said. “So not just working on the attack and defence, but it was how much bigger can I get. The S&C stuff have been really good, especially during preseason when I put on four or five kilos myself.

As evidenced by his gliding run to the line at cinch Stadium at Franklin’s Gardens last time out, or his long-range interception score in the Cup against Doncaster Knights, adding mass hasn’t been at the expense of losing Hendy’s pace to torment defences.

“They [S&C] promised I would not lose my speed if you put on an extra bit of weight,” he said. “They said it will just help me around the park a bit more, especially with the collision side of the game.

“It’s becoming more important than it ever has before. I found myself able to be a bit more dominant with my ball carry due to my size and just getting a bit bigger. Hopefully I am still as quick as I used to be.”

While he didn’t cross the line in the Round One trip to Sale Sharks, Hendy weighed in with a commanding performance despite the aerial bombardment that came his way and got his season off to a positive start, although Saints went down to a narrow defeat.

“It was a massive confidence boost,” Hendy said. “It’s something I’ve been looking into a lot recently, just backing yourself. It gave me a lot of confidence and self-belief, and hopefully I can keep on putting my best foot forward.

“I was fortunate to get the opportunity at the start the season and just happy that I have been able to play well and the coaches have been happy with the way I’ve been progressing on the pitch. I’ve been lucky to put four games together really and hopefully I can go again this weekend.”