Collins treble seals win for Northampton

Northampton……….45

Barbarians…………..39

A second-half hattrick from Tom Collins helped Northampton edge out the Barbarians in an entertaining exhibition match at Franklin's Gardens.

It was the first time in history that Saints have played the Baa-Baas, with the game scheduled in place of the cancelled Premiership match against Worcester.

Saints started on the front foot, sending an early penalty towards the corner before Callum Braley sniped over, with Fin Smith converting from out wide.

The Baa-Baas, keen to play some running rugby from deep, responded with a try as Gareth Simpson collected a grubber to score in the corner.

With advantage being played from a scrum penalty inside their own half, the hosts spun the ball to Collins who darted through a gap and found Rory Hutchinson on his shoulder to score.

Lewis Ludlam then stepped around Elliott Stooke to extend the lead but the Baa-Baas did close the gap as Zach Kibirige hacked on a loose ball and collected to score in the corner. A Luther Burrell offload put Kibirige in for his second before half-time.

Collins crossed for his first try after Sam Graham's carry made ground, and Courtnall Skosan got in on the act six minutes later to score Saints' sixth try.

Burrell then scored against his former team as he was sent down the short side by Simpson and exchanged passes with Francois Hougaard before dotting down in front of a jubilant crowd.

The Baa-Baas dropped the kick-off straight to Collins who took advantage to score his second.

Hougaard collected a fizzing Williams pass to cross the whitewash, before Tevita Ikanivere scored an uncharacteristic Barbarians maul try to bring the visitors back within four points before Collins and Simpson traded tries to round off the scoring.