Sports
Northampton Saints player ratings: ‘Relentless’ Courtney Lawes impresses in final act as youngsters bail out Alex Mitchell
Following a thrilling 25-21 victory over Bath in the Premiership final at Twickenham on Saturday, here are the player ratings for Northampton Saints.
15 George Furbank: Stepped into fly-half well when Fin Smith was forced off and also played a key role in the first two tries. 7
14 Tommy Freeman: Finished the first try and enjoyed a good aerial battle with Will Muir but was well shackled by Bath generally. However, his defensive work was excellent, as he made 11 tackles without missing any. 7
13 Burger Odendaal: Ran hard during his time on the field before being taken off, but he was turned over too many times. 5
12 Fraser Dingwall: Some nice touches in attack as he combined well with other playmakers Fin Smith and George Furbank. 6
11 Ollie Sleightholme: Superb individual effort for his try while he was the Saints’ most potent back throughout the clash. England calling? 8
Young fly-half shows his class
10 Fin Smith: Considering Mitchell’s struggles, Smith did well with what ball he got. Scored a superb drop-goal and manipulated Bath’s defence with his ability to delay the pass. Has so much time on the ball. 8
9 Alex Mitchell: Scored the winning try, showing both his desire and stamina, so gets credit for that, but it was altogether a subpar performance. Some poor decision-making throughout as Ben Spencer got to him. 4
8 Juarno Augustus: The Springboks hopeful has enjoyed a fine end to the season, and he was good on both sides of the ball in the final. 7
7 Tom Pearson: We’re big fans of the physical openside but, in truth, while he had a solid outing, he didn’t do anything spectacular. 6
One of England’s and Northampton’s best
6 Courtney Lawes (c): A fitting way to finish his Saints career, not just because they won the title but also because of his performance in this Premiership final. Absolutely relentless. 8
5 Alex Coles: A ubiquitous presence without making significant interventions. He was also sent into reverse on a couple of occasions. 6
4 Alex Moon: Did his bit in the lineout, but pretty quiet overall. The Northampton front five was very much bested by the Bath pack. 5
3 Trevor Davison: Struggled early on but enjoyed the duel with Juan Schoeman, forcing the substitute to be substituted. 6
2 Curtis Langdon: Was busy during his time on the field, but not quite as influential as he has been in recent weeks. 6
1 Alex Waller: Had a tough old time against the superb Thomas du Toit and was eventually replaced early in the second period. A club legend, however, who retires as one of the Saints’ best ever. 5
Replacements: Emmanuel Iyogun was better in the set-piece and won a crucial penalty off Will Stuart, while George Hendy’s superb run won the game for Northampton. He’s a real talent. 7