Final hero Hendy made the most of Saints' title celebrations

And with good reason as Hendy certainly had plenty to celebrate.

The talented 21-year-old was the super-sub for Saints in the showpiece, coming off the bench to produce a dazzling try assist for Alex Mitchell.

That score proved to be the winner, deflating a previously defiant Bath side who had made their way into the lead during the second half despite having Beno Obano sent off early on.

Hendy weaved his way through the west country outfit to deliver a moment of magic that will live long in the memory.

It earned him the man of the match award, something he was clearly shocked about at the time, and a place in Saints folklore as he helped to deliver only a second Premiership crown for the club.

And in the hours and days that followed, Hendy certainly made the moment last.

“I think I spent three nights in Northampton and I don't think I took my kit off for any part of it,” Hendy said, gleefully. “It was really good fun!

“Saturday, coming back to the stadium with all the fans there was pretty cool.

“Sunday, we had the open-bus tour and had a nice players-only social on Sunday evening which was pretty fun.

“Some of the lads went off to Joel Matavesi's stag do early Monday morning so I was with all the Academy boys on that day and we booked a holiday on the Monday night and flew Tuesday morning. Six of us went to Albufeira in Portugal and that was good fun for the week.

“We flew back on the Sunday so it was a solid week of enjoying the weather, seeing my mates and having a few too many drinks.

“It was definitely a good week and then after that I went home, saw family and played cricket.”

So how long did it take for it all to sink in?

“It did take a few days,” Hendy said.

“Afterwards, from Saturday through to Monday, we were just celebrating really and then when I was on holiday, sitting in, I was about to say sun but it was shade for me, my phone was going absolutely crazy so I just turned it off for a few days, much to my mother's annoyance.

“I just wanted to enjoy the holiday, the company of my friends and it was actually quite nice to get away from it all.

“Coming back home, seeing all my old school friends and all the lads I play cricket with, it was quite nice to have a week where I could just enjoy celebrating a pretty good season.”

Pretty good is an understatement as Hendy enjoyed an incredible rise to prominence at Saints during the 2023/24 campaign.

He made incredible progress week on week, so much so that he earned a place on the bench for the Premiership final ahead of the likes of James Ramm, Rory Hutchinson and Tom Seabrook.

“I got given the first Prem game of last season, starting at full-back because Furbs (George Furbank) was injured and I kind of thought that was how my season would go, having little bits here and there when they need me rather than being a confident name on the teamsheet,” Hendy said.

“But I've got to give credit to the coaches who backed me and liked what they saw in those early games of last year.

“You just keep trying to make yourself a better player every training session and that's what (Sam) Vesty keeps pushing, that when you finish the session, are you a better player and more confident?

“Being a part of the Premiership team through the year has driven my confidence up through the roof so it was just an exciting season that I kept taking week by week, and I kind of never wanted it to end.”

Hendy showed he could make a huge impact off the bench as he came on and delivered a stunning try double to help Saints see off Munster in the Investec Champions Cup last-16 clash at the Gardens.

And that clearly played a part in the coaches' decision to select him as a replacement for the Premiership final.

“You're coming on with 20, 30 minutes to go and you realise you can give it absolutely everything with your fresh legs and your fresh lungs,” Hendy said, when asked about his role as Saints' super-sub.

“That was kind of my mindset and it was the same in the final, to run my blood to water and see what happens.”

And how about that try assist for the final winner?

“All I was thinking about when I caught the ball in a bit of space was to run and get as far as I could,” Hendy explained. “I guess I was thinking 'go and score' so I was just so determined to get to the try line, I think I brushed Furbs off and it slowed me down a little bit but thankfully Mitch was just on my left and I managed to find him.

“I think Tom James is still unhappy with me because he was on my right and he said he was walking under the posts. Looking at it back, he probably was but I just couldn't hear him with all the noise, the adrenalin and it was tunnel vision when I caught the ball of trying to get to the try line.”

But while what happened last season was so, so special, it has been made clear to the Saints squad that a new season brings fresh challenges.

And they are in no mood to take a backward step.

“Dows (Saints boss Phil Dowson) was pretty clear on day one of this pre-season that it was last year's group that won the trophy and this current team hasn't won anything yet,” Hendy said.

“We're pretty keen to go out and make some memories with the new group we've got.

“The way the new lads and the young lads coming up through the Academy have come in, there's still a really good vibe around the training ground and everyone's pretty switched on and pretty keen to go back to back and repeat what we did last season.”

Online car retail giant cinch has just opened its first physical store here in Northampton. Saints’ players attended the store’s grand opening last month to meet fans and customers at the new state-of-the-art showroom on Bedford Road.