Saints star Hendy focuses on consistency rather than trying to replicate final heroics

They were slowly sinking against 14-man Bath, who had fought back to lead despite the first half dismissal of prop Beno Obano.

It was a case of cometh the hour, cometh the man.

And that man was George Hendy.

The wing picked the ball up close to halfway and slalomed his way through the Bath defence before giving the ball to Alex Mitchell to score what proved to be the decisive try.

Saints eventually held on to secure the second PREM title in their history.

This Saturday, they will look to claim their third as they take on Exeter Chiefs at Allianz Stadium, Twickenham.

But Hendy, rather than thinking of producing more match-winning heroics, is purely focused on consistency of performance rather than hogging the headlines.

"I guess I was just thinking 'how can I go an impact the game?' when I was sat on the bench just sort of waiting to hear my name and I was ready to spring into action," said Hendy, reflecting on what happened in the final two years ago.

"When I was on the bench, it was about 'can I go on, bring a bit of energy and try to do something that will help the team?'.

"Now it's about focusing on consistency over 80 minutes and how consistent can I be rather than maybe being a bit inconsistent but having one magical moment.

"Now it's 'can I have all of my involvements be an eight or a nine rather than have all sixes and one 10?' if that makes sense.

"That's what I'm going for this weekend."

Hendy won't be using memories from 2024 to inspire him as he prefers to focus on the near future rather than the past.

"I haven't thought about it (2024) too much because I know this weekend will be completely different but the memories I personally made there two years ago and we made as a group were so special that we're all desperate to relive them and go again this year," he said.

"The try assist happened so fast that I didn't really have time to dwell on it. It was just next job and keep hold of the win really, but the celebrations after are what I remember the most.

"We had a little bit of it on Friday night, getting the result, because the first feeling was relief as we knew we could and should beat Tigers after the season we've had.

"We were relieved when it happened and excited that we get to spend another week together."

Despite the enormity of what is ahead, Saints, who are set for their third major showpiece in as many years, continue to keep their feet on the ground, treating final week as they would any other.

"We try to keep it the same and I think that's a good thing," Hendy said.

"The more you think about it, the more nervous you get, the more emotion builds, the more tension there is in training and all those little things.

"I guess we just want to keep things as similar as possible and then explode at the weekend."

Saints delivered a fantastic free-flowing showing to see off Leicester in the play-off semi-final last Friday night.

And Hendy, who started on the wing, said: "It's testament to how close we are as a group that we all know where each other's going to be, what each other's going to do so it is a pleasure to play around with.

"I can't wait (for this weekend)."

Saints again showed last Friday that they have so many players capable of doing damage.

"I think the two that spring to mind are Archie McParland and Tom Litchfield," said Hendy, reflecting on this team's development. "They've had unbelievable seasons.

"It's just been a pleasure to watch them. They've been given an opportunity, they've really taken it and now they're pretty much unstoppable.

"Anybody in our 15, our 23 can deliver game winning moments, but the key is not to go and chase that feeling and chase that moment - it will happen naturally.

"That's probably what I've learned, is that the opportunity to do something magical will present itself to you - you've just got to make sure you're in the right place at the right time to go and do it.

"It's about staying engaged for 80 minutes and making sure I can put myself in a good spot to go and do something is what I'm focusing on really."