Hendy Scores Three as Eight-Try Saints Rout Pretoria Bulls

The young winger bagged a triple as the Saints made it a perfect ten points from their opening two European games with an eight-try hammering of the Bulls.

Sleightholme scored two tries and Henry Pollock scored the fourth try inside an hour as a dominant Saints team cut loose in the second half.

The visitors were within touching distance with the score 14-5 at the interval but a yellow card to prop Alulutho Tshakweni in the 53rd minute for a needless trip proved very costly and they did not score a point in the final forty minutes.

England fly-half Fin Smith added 10 points from the tee as Northampton moved to the summit of their pool on points difference from defending champions Bordeaux with the two teams on 10 points.

The manner of this win, following a 35-27 away win at Pau last week, means last season's runners-up Saints could not have asked for a more ideal beginning as they aim to improve on that in this campaign.

Pretoria's number ten Kade Wolhuter failed with an early penalty before Saints opened the scoring when Pollock broke before passing to Sleightholme who showed his pace to sprint away to the try line.

But an mistake from Sleightholme allowed the Bulls back into the game as the ball slipped from his grasp in contact, allowing Pretoria winger Stravino Jacobs to kick on and show blistering pace of his own to score after 22 minutes.

Ten minutes later, Saints had their second as fast passing from Alex Mitchell at the ruck base and then Fin Smith sent George Hendy over in the corner to make it 14-5 at the break.

Saints were dominant in both ball and field position and were being aided from Bulls fly-half Wolhuter who failed to find touch with penalty kicks to bring the pressure back on the away side.

That told after 48 minutes when Smith was again the creator, stepping inside to wrong-foot the advancing defence before delivering a perfectly weighted grubber kick over the line for Hendy to grab his second and Northampton's third.

Bulls prop Alulutho Tshakweni was then shown a yellow card for a trip on Iyogun. Tshakweni was insistent he had been reacting to a trip momentarily before by the Saints player but the incident from the Northampton substitute was ruled accidental when reviewed by the match officials.

Saints capitalized of having the numerical advantage to clinch the try bonus point through Pollock before Coles and Ollie Sleightholme scored as the home team registered three tries in five frantic minutes.

George Hendy completed his triple with 12 minutes remaining and Josh Kemeny walked over for the eighth try of an excellent day for Northampton in the dying moments.

Rerun of Last Season's Final Awaits Saints

The leading pair in the group will face off in a rerun of last year's final when the Investec Champions Cup returns in January as Northampton head to Bordeaux-Bègles. The Saints then round off the pool stage with a home game against the Scarlets on January 18th.

The Pretoria Bulls, who have one point from their opening two games, host Bristol next before an away trip Pau.

Line-ups

Northampton: Furbank; Sleightholme, Hutchinson, Dingwall, Hendy; F Smith, Mitchell; Fischetti, Wright, Davison, Coles, Van der Mescht, Kemeny, Pearson, Pollock

Replacements: R Smith, Iyogun, Kundiona, Munga, Prowse, Graham, James, Thame

Bulls: Williams; Petersen, Gans, Vorster, Jacobs; Wolhuter, Burger; Tshakweni, Van der Merwe, Smith, Wiese, Van Heerden, Coetzee, Ludwig, Louw

Replacements: Else, Sithole, Mchunu, Gumede, Carr, Papier, Johannes, Van Niekerk

Yellow card: Tshakweni (53)

Match Officials

Referee: Hollie Davidson (Sco)

Assistant referees: Rob McDowell (Sco) and Dave Sutherland (Sco)

TMO: Mike Adamson (Sco)