Northampton player ratings vs Bordeaux-Begles | 2025/26 Investec Champions Cup

Northampton player ratings: Northampton were stopped firmly in their tracks and put in their place by a rampant Bordeaux-Begles outfit that backed up their victory over Saints in last year’s final in some style.

A creaking scrum and two first-half yellow cards stymied Saints’ efforts and they spent most of the match on the back foot. Henry Pollock lived up to his hype with another all-action display, which included a couple of tries. However, this was a match to forget for the visitors who were opened up far too easily, falling to a dispiriting 50-28 defeat.

Here’s how we rated the Northampton players:

15 George Hendy – 5
Rolled the dice by biting in early in defence but failed to take man and ball and was accountable for two of the home side’s first-half tries. Glided over the ground whenever in possession at the back, but the defensive errors of judgement cost his side. Nothing much seemed to go his way, including a wayward flick pass near the end which cost Sleightholme the chance of an easy finish.

14 Edoardo Todaro – 6
Came up with some jinikng runs in heavy traffic without making too much headway. Didn’t do too much wrong though, other than not getting involved as much as he’d have liked.

13 Tommy Freeman – 6
Even in a quiet game, the Lions and England star still managed to get his name on the scoresheet, albeit this time from just a couple of metres out. Spilled the ball in contact, which led to Matthieu Jalibert’s try as the defending champions brought up their half-century.

12 Rory Hutchinson – 5
Misread an early Bordeaux attacking move, which nearly ended in a score, and was then sin-binned, perhaps harshly, for a late hit on Louis Bielle-Biarrey. Saints suffered badly in his absence and things went from bad to worse when his pass was batted down by Cameron Woki and the rangy French international strode home for his second.  Was also on the receiving end of a huge Yoram Moefana hit but then redeemed himself to a degree with a deft grubber for Pollock’s second.

11 Ollie Sleightholme – 5
Apart from one trademark touchline dart and chip and chase near the end of the first half which almost led to an opportunitist score, Sleightholme wasn’t given much chance to show off his attacking skills. Made very few carries with minimal ground gained. Was also beaten in the air by Penaud at the restart and the winger’s slapdown led to Woki’s hat-trick try.

10 Anthony Belleau – 7
A late call-up for Fin Smith, the Frenchman didn’t disappoint on his home country’s turf. His pinpoint crossfield kick led to Pollock’s try and some of his close-range passing was a delight. He also came up with a crucial, try-saving intercept on the stroke of half-time. Unfortunately for the fly-half, he spilled the ball as he reached for the line 10 minutes from the end of the match, denying him a well-deserved try. Was four from four from the tee.

9 Alex Mitchell – 6
Enjoyed a good first-half, with one booming clearance kick to touch and some on-the-money box kicks in addition to his slick passing. But his missed tackle on Salesi Rayasi led to Bordeaux scoring two minutes after the restart and effectively ended the game as a contest.

1 Danilo Fischetti – 3
Sin-binned after conceding a third scrum penalty inside the first quarter, and didn’t reappear until replacement prop Emmanuel Iyogun was injured late on. A tough day at the coalface for the Italian international but at least he ended the game on a positive note with Saints’ bonus-point try,

2 Craig Wright – 5
The recently re-signed hooker was part of a struggling front row and also misfired on a couple of lineout throws, one of which gave Bordeaux-Begles the platform for scoring one of their four first-half tries. Put himself about physically but has had better days.

3 Trevor Davison – 6
Held up his side of the scrum on the whole and made some telling tackles in a game where Saints spent long periods on the back foot.

4 Alex Coles – 7
Denied an opportunity to add to the brace he scored in last year’s final when his ‘try’ in the second half was disallowed for a knock-on in the build-up. Pilfered one Bordeaux throw early on in the second half and never gave up. Saints’ top tackler.

5 JJ Van Der Mescht – 6
The huge South African put himself about in the tackle and carry but the energy-sapping pace of the game began to tell and he was caught sleeping on duty as a ruck guard, and Martin Page-Relo seized his opportunity to score a try.

6 Callum Chick (c) – 6
Didn’t have the impact that he’d have hoped, either in terms of his own performance and that as a captain, as Saints struggled to find a way to halt Bordeaux’s momentum. Has had more effective days at the back of the pack.

7 Tom Pearson – 6.5
In the thick of Northampton’s defensive effort and also took the fight to Bordeaux with ball in hand with some strong carries. But marked down due to his high missed tackle count, which totalled five.

8 Henry Pollock – 9
Silenced the boo boys with a brilliant finish wide on the left in the early stages and went on to add another in the dying stages. For the first try, the flanker, who received cat calls every time he touched the ball, did well to collect Belleau’s crossfield kick tight to the touchline and then pick-pocketed Damian Penaud, gathering in the bouncing ball, after producing a perfectly weighted chip ahead. Cue the trademark ‘pulse-check’ celebration.

He dropped the ball from the restart, much to the delight of the Stade Chaban-Delmas crowd. But, overall, Pollock rose to the occasion, as a defender – pulling off a brilliant strip tackle when Saints were really under the cosh – as well as linking up well in attack. His second score was more understated but he still showed good pace to ground Hutchinson’s kick ahead of Penaud.

Replacements: 6
Emmanuel Iyogun came on much earlier than he’d have banked on as a replacement for Fischetti, but helped to turn things around at scrum time from the word go, even winning a scrum penalty. He also carried and tackled strongly, as did Sam Graham when he came on in the second half, but Saints were unable to turn the tide even when fresh legs came off the bench.