George Hendy helped himself to a hat-trick as Northampton Saints blew away Vodacom Bulls to ensure maximum points were gained from their opening two rounds of Investec Champions Cup action.
Having commenced their European campaign with a momentous win in Pau a week previously, the men in Black, Green and Gold stuttered to a slender nine-point lead at the break courtesy of a first score for Hendy and an Ollie Sleightholme effort.
Bulls’ response from Stravino Jacobs proved to be the visitors’ only try of the contest, as Saints filled their boots after the interval with Hendy completing his treble, Sleightholme going over for his second and Henry Pollock, Alex Coles and Josh Kemeny also getting in on the act to add further gloss to the scoreline come the final whistle.
First Half
The first scoring opportunity of the game was a speculative one from the visitors as Kade Walhuter lined up a penalty from well inside his own half, but with a stiff Northamptonshire breeze to contend with rather than Pretorian high altitude, the ball lost its flight well before its intended target.
Saints set out their stall with a rapid approach to proceedings with ball in hand coupled with a moment of finesse when Fin Smith dinked a delightful 50:22 kick into touch. While that lineout didn’t stick, George Furbank returned the clearance kick with interest and after a quick recycle at the breakdown, Pollock fixed his man and fed Sleightholme into the right corner for his 50th try in Black, Green and Gold. Smith knocked over a brilliant conversion from the touchline.
Before they’d even fired an attacking shot, Bulls got themselves on the scoreboard as defensive pressure led to a Saints spill and Jacobs needed no second invitation to burn his way into the left corner from 40 metres out.
Toby Thame was introduced to proceedings as a blood replacement for Rory Hutchinson and twice turned shoulders with probing grubbers behind enemy lines. Then it was Alex Mitchell’s turn to skilfully nudge a kick in behind from a breakdown in the 22 for Hendy to force a Bulls player into touch five metres from the line. From that field position, Saints earned a penalty that was tapped and after initial resistance, the direction of play switched to the blindside for Smith to instantly shift for Hendy to finish with five first-half minutes remaining.
Smith’s extras proved to be the final points of the half, with Saints going in at the break with work to do against a Bulls side operating on the ropes but feeding feverishly off any scraps that came their way.
Second Half
Eight minutes of second-half action had ensued with Saints knocking on the door only for a couple of scrum penalties to go the South African side’s way. But on both occasions, Furbank leapt into the sky to prevent deep touchfinders from leaving the field of play.
With that momentum in their grasp, it was Saints who extended their lead. JJ Van Der Mescht punched a massive hole in midfield. Before Bulls could reset their defensive line, Smith grubbered into the in-goal area where Hendy baseball slid home to finish, with Smith completing a hat-trick of challenging conversions.
A lengthy stoppage in play followed as the officials convened under the big screen which resulted in Alu Tshakweni being sin-binned for kicking out at Emmanuel Iyogun. Saints capitalised on their man advantage when Pollock tapped a close range penalty, then bounced back up from the recycle to drive over for the bonus point sealing try.
Bulls were restored to the full complement of players by the time they conceded a fifth shortly after the hour mark. It was a score that had Van Der Mescht’s giant finger prints all over it as two outrageous offloads had cinch Stadium at Franklin’s Gardens in raptures, then it was his second row partner Alex Coles who profited as he strolled over after Kemeny carried hard in the wide channel and Robbie Smith and Alex Mitchell combined to clear up and turn loose ball into a neat try.
The result was in the bag and now it was time to add icing to the cake. Pollock was at the forefront of that as his blistering diagonal run seemed destined to go all the way only for an ankle tap to cut him short. Unlike against Australia in the Autumn Nations Series for England, he didn’t manage to regain his feet to score, as Bulls scrambled well. But it was a short-lived rearguard action as Sleightholme finished the job from close range.
By now the floodgates were fully open and with ten minutes remaining, Hendy completed his hat-trick in the left corner after replacement scrum-half Tom James went blind and fed the winger into the corner to finish.
Line-ups
Saints: 15 Furbank (c),14 Sleightholme, 13 Hutchinson, 12 Dingwall, 11 Hendy, 10 Smith, 9 Mitchell; 1 Fischetti, 2 Wright, 3 Davison, 4 Coles, 5 Van Der Mescht, 6 Kemeny, 7 Pearson, 8 Pollock
Replacements: 16 Smith, 17 Iyogun, 18 Kundiona, 19 Munga, 20 Prowse, 21 Graham, 22 James, 23 Thame
Bulls: 15 Williams, 14 Petersen, 13 Gans, 12 Vorster, 11Jacobs, 10 Wolhuter, 9 Burger; 1 Tshakweni, 2 van der Merwe, 3 Smith, 4 Wiese, 5 van Heerden, 6 Coetzee ©, 7 Ludwig, 8 Louw.
Replacements: 16 Else, 17 Sithole, 18 Mchunu, 19 Gumede, 20 Carr, 21 Papier, 22 Johannes, 23 van Niekerk.