Hendy hat-trick sets Saints on way to rout of weakened Bulls

On the face of it Northampton are flying in the Champions Cup courtesy of two consecutive bonus points wins.

- Robert Kitson

The more pedantic-minded might also point out that both their opponents have fielded below-strength sides, but when the qualifying sums are completed next month that will not be the top line as far as the Saints' management are concerned.

Because regardless of the depth of the resistance they are facing, Northampton are again underlining their ability to pick apart sides who give them too much space and time. On this occasion they rattled up eight tries, including a hat-trick for George Hendy, two for the fit-again Ollie Sleightholme and one for Henry Pollock, who showed a further glimpse or two of his rare talent.

One searing diagonal burst by the 20-year-old England back-rower, stopped only by a tap tackle within sight of the line, was the most obvious retort to the pre-match lip-smacking in South Africa at the prospect of him venturing down a dark alley populated by hard-nosed Afrikaaners unimpressed by his growing international reputation.

Not for the first time, Pollock had the last laugh on the scoreboard. As the Bulls' head coach, Johan Ackermann, correctly observed beforehand: "He gets under the skin of the opposition with his over confidence, but the reality is that he backs it up when he plays."