Northampton Saints 66 Harlequins 21: Tom Vickers' review and player ratings

The black, green and gold might not be one of the biggest sides around, but the size of their heart and determination means they are able to punch well above their weight.

You watch Fin Smith, Edoardo Todaro and George Hendy and you admire their incredible skill, but what they also possess is a huge amount of substance.

Time and again they fight their way through collisions they seem to have no right to, and time and again they stand up in defence against much bigger men.

Then there are forwards such as Tom Pearson, Sam Graham and Callum Chick, all of whom were absolutely thunderous in this hammering of Harlequins.

They continually made hard metres for their team, refusing to be brought to ground before they had taken Saints forward.

And in defence, they ensured Quins would be going backwards as they continually slammed doors shut the second they looked like they may open.

Since Chris Boyd took over at Saints in 2018, Saints have been renowned for their exceptional attacking flair.

But at times during the Kiwi's tenure, they were accused of not having the steel that could take them to the next level to secure major trophies.

In stepped Phil Dowson as director of rugby, taking over in the summer of 2022, and he, along with other coaches who had developed under the shrewd stewardship of Boyd, brought the hard edge Dowson was renowned for during his playing days.

He – along with the likes of James Craig, Matt Ferguson and, of course, Lee Radford – was able to use Sam Vesty's superb attacking nous and give it a stable platform on which to build.

Saints focused on getting bigger and stronger and their hard work behind the scenes bore fruit as they lifted the league title for the first time in 10 years in 2024.

That group had the silk and steel that Jim Mallinder's Premiership and European Challenge Cup-winning men possessed.

Saints showed that again in Europe last season, making it all the way to the Investec Champions Cup showpiece as they claimed huge away wins against powerhouses such as Vodacom Bulls and Leinster.

They had developed that ability to go to a giant’s backyard and not only put up a fight but put them to the sword.

And the only thing that stopped them in the PREM was a slew of injuries that meant their title defence fell flat.

However, some of those experiences gained by players who had to step into the shoes of senior stars have stood them in great stead this season.

It has helped them develop a bigger squad, with the likes of Ed Prowse and Archie McParland stepping up.

And they also made some extremely intelligent summer acquisitions as the likes of Danilo Fischetti, JJ van der Mescht and Anthony Belleau have fitted in so brilliantly.

That extra squad depth was emphasised to the best possible effect when they made 10 changes before claiming a truly memorable 41-21 win at star-studded champions Bath in the final game of 2025.

Another nine changes followed for the clash with Quins in the 2026 opener, but again it made little difference to the momentum as Saints scored 10 tries in a joyous demolition job.

And they did it all without the likes of Manny Iyogun, Curtis Langdon, Trevor Davison, Tom Lockett, Henry Pollock, Ollie Sleightholme, Tom Litchfield and George Furbank.

Quins might be low on confidence but they are not low on quality, with Marcus Smith at fly-half and a back row of Chandler Cunningham-South, Jack Kenningham and Alex Dombrandt.

Those three forwards are extremely physical players, but the black, green and gold largely put them in the shade under a full moon at the Gardens.

Saints could have believed the hype after that much-lauded win at Bath, but they didn't.

Instead, they recovered from an early setback against Quins, stuck to task, kept kicking on and continued to score try after try.

They have now bagged a whopping 36 tries in the past five matches, claiming a bonus-point success in each.

And you don't do that simply by having skill with ball in hand, you have to have a lot of everything, which Saints certainly do.

This is now a team with the kind of all-court game the most dangerous Northampton teams have possessed.

And now they will again be asked to show just how good they can be on the biggest stage against the biggest opposition as they go to Union Bordeaux Bègles on Sunday.

That is a truly mouthwatering match-up between last season's Champions Cup finalists and two of the most free-scoring sides on the planet.

The final was won by Bordeaux last May as Saints lost three key men to injury before the break in Cardiff and it clearly cost them dear as their game plan was undone.

They will again have injuries to contend with this week, having lost Josh Kemeny and Fraser Dingwall against Quins, while a couple of others also seemed to sustain heavy knocks.

Bordeaux will again be in good shape, having been able to bring some of their stars off the bench in a brutal second-half display against Racing 92 on Saturday evening, outscoring their opponents 47-7 after the break to earn an eye-watering 62-20 Top 14 success.

So the size of the task is clear.

But as Mark Twain once said - it's not the size of the dog in the fight, it's the size of the fight in the dog.

And Saints, as they showed against Quins, certainly have more than enough fight to compete in France next weekend.

How they rated…

GEORGE HENDY - seems to make things happen every time he gets the ball. He was beating defenders for fun again and his assist for one of Edoardo Todaro’s tries was typically special… 9

EDOARDO TODARO - a picture of power and pace, the incredibly talented young wing was a real thorn in the side of Quins and he scored a truly memorable try… 9

TOMMY FREEMAN - etched his name on the scoresheet yet again and he did some key defensive work in this game to add to his obvious attacking strengths… 8.5

FRASER DINGWALL - horrible scenes as he was stretchered off but thankfully he was up and about after the game and he more than played his part in it… 8

JAMES RAMM - his ability to bounce out of contact causes teams so many problems and he was a real menace throughout this match, shining on the ground and in the air… 9

FIN SMITH - soaked up some huge hits but kept bouncing back and kept his team moving forward. Showed great awareness for his try and even did a stint at inside centre, showing all sides of his game… 9

ALEX MITCHELL - electric yet again, timing passes perfectly and stretching Quins to breaking point time and again… 9

DANILO FISCHETTI - two tries and a simply huge showing from the prop, who looked hungry for this from minute one after having the previous weekend off… 9

ROBBIE SMITH - was a real nuisance at the breakdown and refused to give Quins a second to breath as he showed good mobility around the field… 8

ELLIOT MILLAR MILLS - showed his handling ability with a nice offload during a Saints try and you can always count on him to deliver whenever he’s in the team… 8

ALEX COLES - CHRON STAR MAN - just top, top class. Has developed into an absolute behemoth with an engine that never runs out of fuel. Scored three tries, superbly set up another and did everything that could be asked of him… 9.5

JJ VAN DER MESCHT - the ball slipped from his grasp once or twice but when he kept hold of it he was just so hard to stop, firing into Quins time after time. Even got an inadvertent try assist with a flick-on for Fin Smith… 8.5

JOSH KEMENY - didn’t get much of a chance to shine in this match as he unfortunately had to go off early on for a head injury assessment

TOM PEARSON - just another absolutely gargantuan performance in a campaign saturated with them so far. He is so, so good right now… 9

CALLUM CHICK - set the tone with some huge hits and he was all-action here, showing yet again what a superb signing he was… 9

Replacements (who played more than 20 minutes)

SAM GRAHAM - a real contender for star man as he looked like a man on a mission after coming off the bench. His physicality was through the roof throughout… 9

RORY HUTCHINSON (for Dingwall 38) - always seems to be playing through the pain for his team right now as he battled on with a serious shin cut against the Bulls and fought on with what appeared to be a rib injury here. Still put himself about, defending with real heart… 8

CRAIG WRIGHT (for R Smith 40) - always adds such energy to the team and his pace was also on show once or twice here as he tried to inflict more damage on Quins… 8

CLEOPAS KUNDIONA (for Millar Mills 40) - a Saints performance full of power was made for this man as he added his muscle to the mix for the second half… 7.5

ARCHIE MCPARLAND (for Mitchell 55) - looked to build on his brilliant showing at Bath and you could see the confidence coursing through him as he tried to test Quins around the fringes… 7