Overview
- Northampton beat Exeter 26-17 at Twickenham on Saturday to win the Gallagher Premiership, with tries from Fin Smith, Tommy Freeman and a second-half double by George Hendy.
- Henry Pollock won the Peter Deakin man-of-the-match medal after high work-rate in carries, tackles and a late turnover, and he has joined England camp ahead of the Nations Championship tour.
- Exeter captain Dafydd Jenkins was sin-binned for a high challenge with about 24 minutes left, a period that swung momentum to Northampton and helped open the gap on the scoreboard.
- Exeter coach Rob Baxter praised his team’s revival this season but singled out costly lineout malfunctions as a decisive technical failing in the final.
- George Furbank made his final appearance for Northampton and is set to join Harlequins next month, and England head coach Steve Borthwick will now assess club form before naming his touring squad.