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Saints' England stars sink Exeter hearts with magic at the death

By PA
Henry Pollock of Northampton Saints celebrates with Tommy Freeman of Northampton Saints after scoring his side's fourth try during the Gallagher PREM match between Exeter Chiefs and Northampton Saints at Sandy Park on April 18, 2026 in Exeter, England. (Photo by Dan Mullan/Getty Images)

A last-minute try by England fly-half Fin Smith snatched victory for Northampton Saints over Exeter Chiefs in a thrilling encounter at Sandy Park.

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The reverse fixture on the opening day of the season finished 33-33 and this game looked to be heading for another draw when replacement winger Paul Brown-Bampoe scored a charge down try in the 78th minute, converted by Henry Slade.

But Saints were not to be denied and a beautiful dummy by Smith saw him coast over the line to break Chiefs’ hearts and secure a 35-28 win for the Premiership leaders

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Exeter got off to a dream start with a try after only 82 seconds from England flyer Immanuel Feyi-Waboso after an initial incision by fellow winger Campbell Ridl helped create a two-on-one overlap.

Slade converted, and then added the extras to a second try five minutes later from centre Will Rigg when he finished off a five-metre tap penalty move to make it 14-0 in a Saints-like start for the hosts.

Match Summary

0
Penalty Goals
0
4
Tries
5
4
Conversions
5
0
Drop Goals
0
131
Carries
148
8
Line Breaks
8
14
Turnovers Lost
17
7
Turnovers Won
6

Try-saving tackles by Stephen Varney and Ridl denied Saints duo Josh Kemeny and Ollie Sleightholme touchdowns respectively in the space of five minutes.

Northampton, however, could not be denied a foothold in the game for long and a beautifully-crafted try was created by George Hendy and Tom Litchfield and finished by England scrum-half Alex Mitchell, who was conducting proceedings so well for Saints.

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Exeter suffered a blow in the 26th minute when they lost stalwart hooker Jack Yeandle to a leg injury.

One area of the Chiefs’ team not performing so well in the first half was the scrum, and a set piece penalty for Saints saw an eventual walk-in score from winger Sleightholme, with Smith smacking over a fine touchline conversion with the last kick of the half to make it 14-14 at the break.

The third quarter was a very cagey affair, with both defences holding firm, until Chiefs got their noses back in front just before the hour mark with a fifth Premiership try of the season for Ridl, with Slade executing the touchline conversion with aplomb.

Feyi-Waboso did his side no favours when he was yellow carded for a deliberate knock-on.

And straight from the penalty kicked to touch, Smith’s delicate little chip over the Chiefs’ defence created a foot race for the line which was won by Harlequins-bound full-back George Furbank, with Smith converting for 21-21 with 15 minutes remaining.

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Saints thought they had got their bonus point try moments later but Kemeny’s score was ruled out for an earlier knock-on.

Exeter went down to 13 men in the 73rd minute when Ridl stopped a possible try with illegal work at the breakdown, and from the tap penalty, space was created for replacement Henry Pollock to collect Saints’ bonus-point touchdown, with Smith converting.

Time was fast running out for the Chiefs and when Slade missed a penalty kicked to to corner, it looked like Exeter had blown their chance, but the clearance kick was charged down by Brown-Bampoe, who beat Furbank to the ball, and Slade converted magnificently to level the scores once more.

Saints were not satisfied with a draw though, and a break by Dingwall set up Smith, leaving Exeter to console themselves with two bonus points to leave them four ahead of Bristol in the final play-off place.

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