Saints ace Hendy savoured England experience as he sets sights on more

The hugely talented Saints back came on during the second half and saw a try ruled out in a 28-12 win for England A against Ireland A at Ashton Gate.

Hendy showed his increased physicality with some big carries as well as flashing his impressive speed during the encounter in Bristol.

And at the age of just 22, the man of the match in last season's Gallagher Premiership final victory appears to have a huge future ahead of him.

"Obviously, you want to play for England and have those aspirations, and the time will come, but I’ll just keep working on my own game," Hendy said.

"I know the bits I need to work on, I know the bits I’m already good at, and now (it’s about) can I get great at those things?

"So, it’s more of a personal development journey and then hopefully I can get the (international) recognition down the line."

So how did he enjoy the England A experience?

"It was very different and really nice to play with a lot of other standout players in the league and getting to learn off different people and different coaches, trying to almost learn a different system with a new group of lads," said Hendy.

"It was very enjoyable, obviously there were a few Saints lads as well to help make it an easier way in, but it was really good fun and we all had good fun last Sunday as well.

"You’ve got Tom Lockett picking up man of the match, Curtis Langdon starting, Tom Pearson doing a full 80 and then Tarek (Haffar), Greeny (Luke Green), and myself coming off the bench as well.

"It was a really good environment to be in and I loved it, trying to adapt to different playing styles.

"Any opportunity I can get to play in an England shirt, I’ll happily take."

Hendy had to endure a spell on the sidelines early in 2025 after suffering a shoulder injury in the win against Bath on January 5.

He tried to play on in that match but was hit by Ollie Lawrence, forcing him from the field.

Hendy said: "I knew it was pretty painful, but there were only about three minutes left of the first half and it was just trying to see it out until half-time and we’ll make a sub at half-time rather than having somebody come on the pitch for three minutes just to go straight back in again.

"I tried to make it to half-time, but it didn’t quite work out!

"I thought it would be just a one or two-week thing, but it ended up being about four or five, which was a bit frustrating, but I worked hard with the physio department trying to get back as quick as possible.

"I maybe tried to push it a couple of weeks too early and that put me back a step or two, but now I’m fully back."

Hendy returned to action with a try-scoring showing against Nottingham earlier this month and then got that England A game time.

He will now look to propel Saints past Ealing Trailfinders in the Premiership Rugby Cup quarter-final at cinch Stadium at Franklin's Gardens on Saturday (kick-off 3pm).

"I felt a bit rusty having not played for a couple of weeks, but I blew off the cobwebs against Nottingham and hopefully back into it last Sunday, rolling into this week," Hendy said.

"We know we’ve got a big task ahead of us this week against Ealing, but we’re pretty excited about the Prem Cup opportunity this year and we know we’ll need a pretty good run-in.

"It’s pretty much knockout rugby from here on out for us, in terms of the Premiership and Europe as well.

"We know we want to win every game we can and we’ll be trying our best to do that."

This weekend, Hendy could come up against a player he credits for having a big influence on his career.

Wing Tom Collins was a Saints Academy graduate and enjoyed plenty of success at the Gardens, claiming Premiership and European Challenge Cup glory in 2014.

And Hendy said: “I would probably say he was my mentor in my first year when I first joined Saints.

"I tried to learn off him as much as I could and how good he was in a Saints shirt as well, so it will be good to see him again.

"I’ve not personally been in touch with him – he’s probably more in touch with the older lads than the younger lads like myself!”

Collins is a key figure in an Ealing side that currently sits 13 points clear at the top of the Championship.

"We’ve done a little bit of ID on them, we know that they’ll be lapping up the opportunity to play a Premiership team and they’ll really want a result for them because that would be massive for their campaign as well and prove they can be a Premiership team in the future,” Hendy said.

"We know they’re going to be good, we know they’re going to be physical and bring a lot of energy, but we’re looking forward to it as well.”