🔗 Share this article George Hendy Hat-Trick as Eight-Try Northampton Demolish Bulls Northampton's Hendy previously scored a try in the previous win against Pau. Investec Champions Cup Pool Four Northampton Saints (14) 50 Tries: Sleightholme 2, Hendy 3, Pollock, Coles, Kemeny Cons: Smith 5 Pretoria Bulls (5) 5 Tries: Jacobs The young winger bagged a triple as the Saints secured a perfect ten points from their first two Investec Champions Cup games with an eight-try hammering of Pretoria. Sleightholme scored two tries and Pollock scored the bonus point try before the hour mark as a dominant Saints team cut loose in the second half. The visitors were within touching distance with the score 14-5 at the break but a sin-binning to prop Tshakweni in the 53rd minute for a unnecessary trip proved very costly and they failed to register a point in the final forty minutes. International Smith added 10 points from the tee as Northampton moved to the summit of Pool Four on points difference from defending champions Bordeaux-Bègles with the two teams on 10 points. Fin Smith contributed 10 points in a man-of-the-match performance. The manner of this win, coming after a 35-27 away win at Section Paloise previously, means last season's runners-up Saints could not have asked for a more ideal beginning as they look to improve on that in this campaign. Pretoria's number ten Kade Wolhuter missed an early shot at goal before Saints took the lead when Henry Pollock broke before passing to Ollie Sleightholme who demonstrated his speed to sprint away to the line. But an mistake from Sleightholme let the Bulls back in as the ball slipped from his grasp in contact, allowing Bulls wing Jacobs to hack the ball forward and show electric speed of his own to reply after 22 minutes. Ten minutes later, Northampton had their second as fast passing from Alex Mitchell at the ruck base and then Smith put Hendy over to make it fourteen to five at the half-time whistle. Northampton were dominant in both ball and field position and were being given a helping hand from the opposition fly-half Wolhuter who twice missed touch with penalty kicks to reinvite pressure onto the away side. That proved decisive after 48 minutes when Smith was again the architect, darting inside to wrong-foot the onrushing defense before sending a perfectly weighted left-footed kick over the line for George Hendy to collect his second try and Saints' third. Bulls prop Alulutho Tshakweni was then shown a yellow card for a trip on Iyogun. Tshakweni was adamant he had been responding to a trip just prior by Iyogun but the incident from the Saints replacement prop was ruled accidental when looked at by the match officials. Saints seized the opportunity of having the numerical advantage to clinch the bonus point through Pollock before Alex Coles and Sleightholme scored as the home team registered three scores in five frantic minutes. Hendy wrapped up his triple with 12 minutes remaining and Kemeny strolled in for the eighth and final try of an excellent afternoon for Saints in the dying moments. Rerun of Last Year's Final Awaits Saints The leading pair in the pool will face off in a rerun of the previous season's final when the tournament resumes in January as Saints head to Bordeaux-Bègles. Northampton then round off the pool stage with a home game against Scarlets on 18 January. The Pretoria Bulls, who have a single point from two matches, welcome Bristol Bears in their next outing before an away trip face 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)
Northampton's Hendy previously scored a try in the previous win against Pau. Investec Champions Cup Pool Four Northampton Saints (14) 50 Tries: Sleightholme 2, Hendy 3, Pollock, Coles, Kemeny Cons: Smith 5 Pretoria Bulls (5) 5 Tries: Jacobs The young winger bagged a triple as the Saints secured a perfect ten points from their first two Investec Champions Cup games with an eight-try hammering of Pretoria. Sleightholme scored two tries and Pollock scored the bonus point try before the hour mark as a dominant Saints team cut loose in the second half. The visitors were within touching distance with the score 14-5 at the break but a sin-binning to prop Tshakweni in the 53rd minute for a unnecessary trip proved very costly and they failed to register a point in the final forty minutes. International Smith added 10 points from the tee as Northampton moved to the summit of Pool Four on points difference from defending champions Bordeaux-Bègles with the two teams on 10 points. Fin Smith contributed 10 points in a man-of-the-match performance. The manner of this win, coming after a 35-27 away win at Section Paloise previously, means last season's runners-up Saints could not have asked for a more ideal beginning as they look to improve on that in this campaign. Pretoria's number ten Kade Wolhuter missed an early shot at goal before Saints took the lead when Henry Pollock broke before passing to Ollie Sleightholme who demonstrated his speed to sprint away to the line. But an mistake from Sleightholme let the Bulls back in as the ball slipped from his grasp in contact, allowing Bulls wing Jacobs to hack the ball forward and show electric speed of his own to reply after 22 minutes. Ten minutes later, Northampton had their second as fast passing from Alex Mitchell at the ruck base and then Smith put Hendy over to make it fourteen to five at the half-time whistle. Northampton were dominant in both ball and field position and were being given a helping hand from the opposition fly-half Wolhuter who twice missed touch with penalty kicks to reinvite pressure onto the away side. That proved decisive after 48 minutes when Smith was again the architect, darting inside to wrong-foot the onrushing defense before sending a perfectly weighted left-footed kick over the line for George Hendy to collect his second try and Saints' third. Bulls prop Alulutho Tshakweni was then shown a yellow card for a trip on Iyogun. Tshakweni was adamant he had been responding to a trip just prior by Iyogun but the incident from the Saints replacement prop was ruled accidental when looked at by the match officials. Saints seized the opportunity of having the numerical advantage to clinch the bonus point through Pollock before Alex Coles and Sleightholme scored as the home team registered three scores in five frantic minutes. Hendy wrapped up his triple with 12 minutes remaining and Kemeny strolled in for the eighth and final try of an excellent afternoon for Saints in the dying moments. Rerun of Last Year's Final Awaits Saints The leading pair in the pool will face off in a rerun of the previous season's final when the tournament resumes in January as Saints head to Bordeaux-Bègles. Northampton then round off the pool stage with a home game against Scarlets on 18 January. The Pretoria Bulls, who have a single point from two matches, welcome Bristol Bears in their next outing before an away trip face 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)