Northampton Saints thrash Bristol Bears 94-33 in record-breaking Premiership game

Northampton were back to their razor-sharp attacking form and needed six more points from their final two games to secure a home semi-final. Bristol’s loss left them four points behind Exeter, who were scheduled to play Harlequins on the following Saturday, though Bristol at least picked up a bonus point from the defeat.

Hendy’s fourth try ensured it was the most points Northampton had ever scored in a Premiership match, surpassing the 90 points against Gloucester in 2024, and equalling the 14 tries achieved that day. The Saints’ performance marked a night of records in English top-flight rugby.

Luka Ivanishvili scored for Bristol to secure a bonus point. Noah Heward thenCut a superb run and scored for Northampton, while Moroni was sin-binned for holding Pollock. From the penalty, Saints worked Graham in for a 13th try, and Hendy finished with another late score to cap his four-try night.

Rory Hutchinson’s turnover enabled Hendy to complete a hat-trick as he stepped in from the left wing, further increasing Northampton’s advantage and leaving Bristol reeling as they faced a record points total against them.

Two minutes into the second half, Tommy Freeman broke through and fed Pollock for a try. Bristol then worked Harry Randall into the right corner for their third try, but they dropped the restart and McParland collected the loose ball to run in.

Halftime score stood at 61-14 to Northampton after nine first-half tries. Bristol had answered with five tries from Thacker, Rees-Zammit, Randall, Ivanishvili and Heward, but the deficit underlined the scale of Northampton’s dominance.

The night began with a break from Tom Litchfield and a Henry Pollock pass to send Hendy in for the opening score. Rory Hutchinson and Callum Chick added two more tries before Harry Thacker and Rees-Zammit replied to leave the score at 19-14. Ravouvou was sin-binned for a deliberate knock-on, allowing Saints to add three more tries through Coles, McParland and Hendy, with Furbank finishing a flowing move. Hutchinson then completed a seventh try from an attacking line-out, and Kemeny added an eighth before halftime as Hendy struck again from a break, with Joe Batley sin-binned for a shoulder charge.

Northampton Saints defeated Bristol Bears 94-33 at Franklin’s Gardens, scoring 14 tries to set a new record for the most points in an English top-flight rugby union match (127 total). George Hendy led with four tries, including the early opener and the final score. The first half yielded nine Saints tries to lead 61-14 at the break, while Bristol managed five tries in reply. The night also featured sin-binnings for Ravouvou and Batley and a yellow card for Ed Prowse.