Northampton Saints: Can Prem Rugby champions become one of English rugby’s greats?

Northampton Saints are proving themselves to be the formidable force in English club rugby union.

For the second time in three seasons, they have been crowned champions.

But they did it the hard way, pushed all the way by Exeter Chiefs in the Prem final before eventually running out 26-17 winners at Allianz Stadium.

Were it not for George Hendy’s quickfire second-half double when the Chiefs were down to 14 men following the sin-binning of Dafydd Jenkins, the story may have been different.

But nobody in Northampton will care. This is their third crown in all, and it would be hard to bet against more in the very near future.

BBC rugby union correspondent Chris Jones certainly thinks so.

“Northampton are building a dynasty,” he told BBC Radio 5 Live.

“With 14 academy graduates in their 23, it’s based on developing their own, and you can see the connection here between the players and their supporters who are in raptures in the Twickenham sunshine.

“With time on their side, they will feel they can add to their legacy and be talked about in the future as one of the great English club sides in history.”

England World Cup winner and former Saints scrum-half Matt Dawson concurred: “This crop are the best Northampton team there has ever been. Period.

“The trophies, their style, what they’ve done for the town, for the fans is unrivalled. It has been a pleasure to watch them.”