Northampton's Third Title: Are Saints Really English Rugby Greats?
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Northampton Saints won the 2026 PREM Rugby final 26–17 against Exeter Chiefs at Allianz Stadium on 20 June, coming from behind in the last quarter. It was their second title in three seasons and their third overall.
The phrase "best Northampton team ever" attached itself to the side almost immediately — the BBC ran it as a headline the same day, asking whether a dynasty is being built at Franklin's Gardens. It is a fair question about the club. It is a much harder question about English rugby.
How the final was won
Saints scored inside two minutes and still had to survive a comeback.
| Min | Scorer | Team | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2' | Tommy Freeman | Northampton | Try |
| 10' | Ridl | Exeter | Try |
| 31' | Fin Smith | Northampton | Try |
| 39' | Josh Iosefa-Scott | Exeter | Try |
| 52' | Dafydd Jenkins | Exeter | Try |
| 65' | George Hendy | Northampton | Try |
| 68' | George Hendy | Northampton | Try |
Half-time: Northampton 14–10. Fin Smith kicked three conversions; Henry Slade one. Player of the match: Henry Pollock. Reported attendance 81,126 (Planet Rugby, single-sourced). Exeter's try-scorer has been reported as both Campbell and Cameron Ridl.
Jenkins's try on 52 minutes put Exeter ahead. What turned it was discipline: yellow cards to Jenkins and Josh Kemeny left Exeter short, and George Hendy scored twice inside three minutes through the gaps that opened up. A 17–14 deficit became a 26–17 win in roughly a quarter of an hour of playing time.
The route there
Northampton topped the regular season, earning a home semi-final, and beat Leicester Tigers 45–31 at Franklin's Gardens on 12 June, with a Tom Litchfield hat-trick and two from George Furbank. Exeter arrived the harder way, overturning a 16-point deficit to beat Bath 27–26 at the Rec.
Three titles is not yet a dynasty
This is the part the "greats" conversation usually skips. Here is where Northampton actually sit in the all-time English top-flight table.
| Club | Titles | Runners-up | Last title |
|---|---|---|---|
| Leicester Tigers | 11 | 8 | 2022 |
| Bath | 7 | 6 | 2025 |
| Wasps | 6 | 5 | 2008 |
| Saracens | 6 | 4 | 2023 |
| Northampton Saints | 3 | 2 | 2026 |
| Exeter Chiefs | 2 | 5 | 2020 |
| Harlequins | 2 | — | 2021 |
| Sale Sharks | 1 | 2 | 2006 |
| Newcastle | 1 | — | 1998 |
Totals include pre-1997 Courage League championships, not only play-off-era finals.
Leicester have eleven. Northampton have three, and two of them arrived in the last three seasons. On the historical measure, Saints are a mid-table club having a very good spell — they sit behind four clubs and are one title clear of Exeter and Harlequins.
What would actually make them great
The three sides usually cited as English rugby's benchmark teams offer a clear yardstick:
- Leicester 1999–2002: four consecutive English titles plus back-to-back Heineken Cups in 2001 and 2002.
- Wasps 2003–2008: three titles in four years, plus European Cups in 2004 and 2007.
- Saracens 2015–2019: three titles in five years, plus three European Cups.
The pattern is not "titles in a short window". It is domestic dominance combined with European success in the same period. Northampton's European Cup was in 2000 — twenty-six years and several squad generations before this team existed. A third domestic title is a strong claim to being the best Northampton side. It is not yet a claim on the same list as those three.
What 2026–27 would need to produce: a title defence, a deep European run, and the retention of Pollock, Freeman, Smith and Hendy through the next contract cycle.
Northampton's full honours
| Competition | Years won |
|---|---|
| English league / Premiership | 2013–14, 2023–24, 2025–26 |
| Heineken Cup / European Cup | 1999–2000 |
| European Challenge Cup | 2008–09, 2013–14 |
| Anglo-Welsh Cup | 2009–10 |
| Premiership Rugby Cup | 2018–19 |
| Second-tier titles | 1989–90, 1995–96, 2007–08 |
Sources
- Sky Sports — Northampton come from behind to seal title
- Sky Sports — full match report and timeline
- Rugby365 — Hendy double seals PREM title
- Planet Rugby — five takeaways from the final
- BBC Sport — Can 'best Northampton team ever' become one of English rugby's greats?
- PREM Rugby — champions and performance by club
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