George Hendy Hat-Trick as Eight-Try Saints Demolish Bulls

The young winger scored a hat-trick as Northampton secured a perfect ten points from their first two Investec Champions Cup games with an eight-try hammering of the Bulls.

Sleightholme scored two tries and Pollock secured the fourth try inside an hour as a dominant Northampton side cut loose in the second half.

The Bulls were within touching distance with the score fourteen-five at the interval but a sin-binning to forward Alulutho 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 Fin Smith added 10 points with the boot as Saints moved to the summit of Pool Four on points difference from defending champions Bordeaux with both sides on 10 points.

The manner of this victory, coming after a 35-27 away win at Section Paloise previously, means last year's losing finalists Northampton could not have hoped for a more ideal beginning as they look to improve on that this season.

Bulls fly-half Wolhuter missed an early shot at goal before the hosts opened the scoring when Pollock made a break before feeding Ollie Sleightholme who showed his pace to race clear to the try line.

But an error from Sleightholme let the Bulls back in as the ball slipped from his grasp in the tackle, allowing Pretoria winger Jacobs to kick on and show electric speed of his own to score after 22 minutes.

Shortly after, Saints had their second as fast passing from Mitchell at the ruck base and then Smith sent George Hendy over in the corner to make it fourteen to five at the half-time whistle.

Saints were on top in both ball and field position and were being aided from Bulls fly-half Wolhuter who twice missed touch with clearing penalties to bring the pressure back on the visitors.

That told after 48 minutes when Fin Smith was again the architect, stepping inside to deceive the onrushing defense before delivering a perfectly weighted grubber kick over the line for Hendy to grab his second and Saints' third.

Pretoria forward Tshakweni was then shown a yellow card for a tripping offense on Emmanuel Iyogun. The prop was insistent 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 capitalized of having the extra man to clinch the try bonus point through Pollock before Coles and Ollie Sleightholme crossed as the home team notched three tries in five frantic minutes.

George Hendy wrapped up his triple with 12 minutes remaining and Josh Kemeny strolled in for the eighth try of an excellent day for Saints in the dying moments.

Rerun of Last Season's Final Next for Saints

The top two teams in the group will face off in a rematch of last year's final when the tournament resumes in the new year as Northampton travel to Bordeaux-Bègles. Northampton then round off the pool stage with a home game against the Scarlets on 18 January.

The Pretoria Bulls, who have one point from two matches, welcome Bristol Bears in their next outing before traveling to 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)