Northampton Saints 26 Exeter Chiefs 17: Tom Vickers' review and player ratings

At the end of the epic historical action film Troy, there are some poignant words.

A character who has fought in a time of the most legendary of warriors says: "If they ever tell my story, let them say I walked with giants. Men rise and fall like the winter wheat, but these names will never die. Let them say, I lived in the time of Hector, breaker of horses. Let them say, I live in the time of Achilles."

Saints delivered Gallagher PREM glory for the second time in three seasons on Saturday (photo by Peter Nicholls/Getty Images)

placeholder image — Saints delivered Gallagher PREM glory for the second time in three seasons on Saturday (photo by Peter Nicholls/Getty Images)

And in years to come, Saints supporters will most likely have the same feeling about what they have experienced during the recent era.

Because they have lived in the time of Tommy Freeman, breaker of opposition defences. They have lived in the time of Alex Coles, leader of men. They have lived in the time of Henry Pollock, conquerer of all doubters. They have lived in the time of Fin Smith, conjurer of magic. And the list goes on and on.

Under the astute stewardship of Phil Dowson, Sam Vesty and Co, the Shoe Army have marched across England and Europe, taking huge scalps along the way.

They have reached three major finals in as many years, winning two Gallagher PREM titles and finishing runners-up in the Investec Champions Cup showpiece, having reached the semi-finals of that competition a year earlier.

A team of giants who will forever be etched into this great club's history has been formed.

And how grateful we all should be, to be witnessing something that should never be taken for granted and that, years from now, will be looked back upon so fondly.

For so long, Saints watched on as clubs like Leicester Tigers and Saracens created dynasties.

Trophy after trophy came their way as Saints had to so often sit in the shade, losing to those teams on their way to gut-wrenching season conclusions.

Of course, this storied club had claimed some sizeable silverware, being crowned champions of Europe for the first, and so far only, time in 2000, and securing its first PREM title as well as a Challenge Cup trophy in 2014.

But nothing quite stuck.

Those teams, as great as they were, could not build on that success to go on to keep making massive final after massive final.

This team has.

Built from the Academy up, with one of the PREM's more modest budgets, Northampton has now risen to scarcely believable heights.

Everyone at the Gardens has played their part, through the years when a win could barely be bought, through Covid, when supporters donated money to keep their club afloat, through the years of reshaping after end-of-season despair.

Saints kept going, they kept working and they kept believing.

And that is an ethos that they have carried into both PREM finals in recent years, battling many tough moments during those 80 minutes but ultimately prevailing.

They were far from at their best for so long at Allianz Stadium, Twickenham on Saturday.

In fact, at times it felt like the real stars had been beamed up to outer space and imposters had entered their bodies.

Saints' attacking verve was sorely lacking as they found life tough in the pressure cooker of a final against a brutal Exeter Chiefs side who constantly rattled their rib cages.

International stars were making uncharacteristic errors and decisions, but this is what finals rugby does. It so rarely brings the best out of any player or team.

The men on the field have to battle their own emotions as well as the opposition, and it all looks so alien compared to the journey that got them there.

However, just as they did in 2024, when they beat a Bath side who threatened to win with 14 men, Saints stared the death of their season in the face and told it 'not today'.

They used a second-half hydration break to return players to Planet Earth, looking far more like themselves after taking a glug of water.

And then came the final Saints surge, once again heavily involving George Hendy, who turned the 2024 showpiece on its head in his team's favour.

Back then, his dazzling solo run set up Alex Mitchell for what proved to be the winning try as a Saints side who so badly needed some on-field inspiration landed a telling sucker punch.

This time, Hendy found a way to score twice in the right corner, turning a 17-14 deficit into a 26-17 lead in the blink of a black, green and gold eye.

And then came the final stand.

The moment when you knew Saints had done it. The moment you knew that had won it.

Exeter tried desperately to get out of their own half, to penetrate the Northampton defences.

They fired arrow after arrow, pushing men towards the black, green and gold wall, but they just could not find a way to force Saints into their own half.

In Lee Radford's last game as defence coach, his warriors did him proud.

Backed by loud cries of 'come on you Saints' from the stands, they resisted time after time before player of the match Pollock popped up to win a breakdown penalty, as he so often does.

Saints may not have had their best stuff all the way through this match, but they did what champions do: they showed an ability to lean on every area of their game.

They are so often hailed as a swashbuckling attacking side, but without the nuts and bolts of their physicality, their set piece and defence, wheels can quickly come off.

This Saints team again showed it is the full package, saturated with world class stars whose talents have been honed through years of Gardens graft.

They have used the brutal battles they have experienced and ensured the scars they have collected are worn as a shield.

They have build a team spirit that is hard to put into words, knowing that when the going gets tough, they can rely on the man alongside them.

They have forged a squad that has ensured that even when one man falls, as Archie McParland sadly did due to an early injury, another steps into the void and refuses to let the line break.

Players such as Ed Prowse, McParland and Tom Litchfield have gone from footsoliders to lieutenants during the course of a season in which their team has topped the table in grand style.

How cruel it would have been had a league campaign that saw this special Saints group win 14 of its 18 regular-season games ended in defeat on the grandest of stages.

That is where the nerves came from, particularly in the stands, as many will have not enjoyed the majority of this match, fearing so much hard work would go up in the trophy-lift smoke.

There was such a desperation to see this bunch of talented and humble young men lift the trophy their stellar season merited.

And though at times it felt like despair was waiting at the door, eventually glory knocked louder.

For departing skipper George Furbank, it was the fairy-tale ending he and his team-mates craved before his chapter in Saints history reached its conclusion.

But though the curtain may have now come down on this giant’s Northampton career, his contribution to this club will never be forgotten.

And how grateful we all are that we have lived in his and this Saints team's era.

How they rated…

GEORGE FURBANK - Gallagher PREM champion... 10

TOMMY FREEMAN - Gallagher PREM champion... 10

TOM LITCHFIELD - Gallagher PREM champion... 10

RORY HUTCHINSON - Gallagher PREM champion... 10

GEORGE HENDY - Gallagher PREM champion... 10

FIN SMITH - Gallagher PREM champion... 10

ARCHIE MCPARLAND - Gallagher PREM champion... 10

MANNY IYOGUN - Gallagher PREM champion... 10

CURTIS LANGDON - Gallagher PREM champion... 10