Alex Coles helped himself to a hat-trick as Northampton Saints returned to the top of the Gallagher PREM with an emphatic 66-21 victory over Harlequins at a sold-out cinch Stadium at Franklin’s Gardens.
Seven tries were scored in a barnstorming first half that saw Danilo Fischetti strike twice along with Alex Mitchell, Coles and Tommy Freeman – with Cassius Cleaves and Alex Dombrandt going over for Harlequins.
Phil Dowson’s side pulled further clear after the break when Coles crossed twice more, Edoardo Todaro landed a brace and Fin Smith dotted down as Saints breezed past their previous-best score against Quins by a handsome 17-point margin to start 2026 with a bang.
FIRST HALF:
Quins flew out of the blocks, retaining their own kick-off and keeping the ball in hand pulling the defence left and right before Cleaves burst through a gap from close range, with Marcus Smith slotting the near-touchline conversion.
Saints levelled the scores after 15 minutes from an attack that saw George Hendy and James Ramm make metres out wide before Mitchell was caught inside the 22. Harlequins transgressed at the breakdown, and from the penalty that was punted to touch, Ramm ran hard once more before Fischetti bludgeoned his way over for a first Saints try, with Smith adding the extras.
The ball was now beginning to stick for the men in Black, Green and Gold – and in a major way – with a blistering period of attacking play that raised temperatures on a freezing evening.
An exchange of possession down the right once more between Hendy and Ramm allowed the latter to canter free and feed Coles to finish untouched, then a strong Tom Pearson carry was backed up by rampaging forwards Elliot Millar Mills, Fischetti and Coles – whose deft hands paved the way for Mitchell to cross the line.
The bonus point was secured before the half-hour mark as Fischetti was put over by Mitchell with a tidy close-range exchange. Smith added a third successful conversion.
Saints’ run of 26 unanswered points came to an end when a neat lineout play saw Dombrandt leap over in the left corner. It proved to be a brief interruption to the scoring flow as a mesmeric run from Mitchell through centre field somehow evaded the grasp of a pink-shirted opponent and then there was no stopping Freeman to finish on an angled run for glory for his ninth try in five games.
Play paused for a considerable period approaching half-time as Fraser Dingwall became the second Saint to be withdrawn due to a head injury, following on from Josh Kemeny’s earlier withdrawal.
SECOND HALF:
Two front row replacements were made at the break as Craig Wright and Cleopas Kundiona entered proceedings.
The opening five minutes after the interval was an onslaught that came with no further scoreboard reward as JJ Van Der Mescht twice went close, then Callum Chick and Pearson were both held up over the line.
Saints kept knocking on the door and finally got their reward when Mitchell remained alert to a turnover attempt from Quins to regather. When Fischetti was stopped just short of his hat-trick, Smith had a probe then finally Coles arrived with a telescopic arm to reach down and register his second try of the contest.
A second score of the half swiftly followed as Chick punched a big hole down the middle as Saints swarmed for Hendy to tease the defence and free Todaro to dive over in the left corner. Smith’s successful conversion opened a 33-point gap.
The 50-point mark was broken with a fortuitous moment as Smith’s pass bounced off the head of Van Der Mescht, allowing Smith to toe forward to the left of the posts before grounding the ball.
There was nothing fortunate about Saints’ ninth of the contest as Todaro pulled in a pass from 40 metres out and beat four defenders with pace and robust physicality for his second of the evening.
With five minutes remaining, Harlequins gave themselves a fighting chance of taking a point from the game when Rodrigo Isgro weaved through and fed Dombrandt to complete his brace.
But the final try wasn’t to be from the Londoners. After Pearson had a try chalked off for an early knock on, then Freeman was held up, one last attack saw Cole finish to the left of the posts to complete his treble.
Smith’s conversion took his individual points total to 21 – equalling his career highest haul for the club of 21 achieved against Newcastle in April 2023 – as Saints recorded their best-ever win against Harlequins on a fine day for the club with both the U17 and U18 Academy sides also securing big victories against Leicester Tigers.
At the PREM season’s half-way point, Saints are just six points shy of their points total accumulated throughout the 2024/25 campaign, as attentions now turn to the return of Investec Champions Cup action with a trip to Bordeaux-Begles on Sunday 11 January (kick-off: 3.15pm UK time).
LINE-UPS:
Saints: 15 Hendy, 14 Todaro, 13 Freeman, 12 Dingwall, 11 Ramm, 10 F Smith, 9 Mitchell; 1 Fischetti, 2 R Smith, 3 Millar Mills, 4 Coles, 5 Van Der Mescht, 6 Kemeny, 7 Pearson, 8 Chick.
Replacements: 16 Wright, 17 Scola, 18 Kundiona, 19 Prowse, 20 Graham, 21 McParland, 22 Belleau, 23 Hutchinson.
Harlequins: 15 David, 14 Isgro, 13 Northmore, 12 Evans, 11 Cleaves, 10 Smith, 9 Friday; 1 Hobson, 2 Turner, 3 Williams, 4 Petti, 5 Treadwell, 6 Cunningham-South, 7 Kenningham, 8 Dombrandt (c).
Replacements: 16 Riley, 17 Kerrod, 18 Delgado, 19 Williams, 20, Launchbury, 21 Carr, 22 Porter, 23 Bradley.