Northampton Saints v Bayonne LIVE: European Champions Cup updates as Saints secure last-16 spot in nine-try rout

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Northampton Saints became the first side to be sure of making it out of the pool stage of the Investec Champions Cup with a 61-14 rout of Bayonne at Franklin’s Gardens.

The in-form side were at their rampant best against Top 14 opponents who had no answer to the speed of the Saints’ game, with six converted tries run in by half time without reply.

Bayonne were slightly improved after the interval and crossed twice late on after Northampton had made a string of changes, but it was far too little too late for the French visitors, who looked shell shocked at times in the face of Northampton’s brilliant display.

The outstanding Tommy Freeman opened the scoring with just over a minute on the clock to signal Saints’ intent, and was involved in a number of the tries that followed, earning him the Player of the Match award.

Flanker Tom Pearson bagged a hat-trick, prop Alex Waller burrowed over twice, and there were also tries for Courtney Lawes, Curtis Langdon and Tom James on a night to remember for the Northampton faithful.

It was a nine-try sort of night for Northampton, with flanker Pearson getting three of them. Here’s how he completed his hat-trick:

Tommy Freeman is the Player of the Match. Here’s what he had to say to TNT Sports after the game:

“Credit to us, credit to the lads. To get that big result is massive for us. It’s a happy return; we’ll rip into Munster next week.”

And could Freeman be an England starter in the Six Nations?

Northampton Saints are the first team through to the last-16 of the Champions Cup after a hammering of Bayonne in a Friday evening try-frenzy. That was superb from the Saints, relentlessly good. It's Munster away next up, which should be a belter.

That’s beautiful from Bayonne. They have the advantage and Labarbe produces a beautiful dink over the top that Callandret claims and touches down. The conversion is good.

The visitors have finally found something to put some pressure on Northampton, and they go through the phases in the Saints half to good effect.

They’ve taken their foot off in the last few minutes, but this has been an emphatic night for Northampton against a team who drew with Munster in their previous away game in this competition. They’ve blown Bayonne away, playing the sort of rugby that is really wonderful to watch.

Now that is a peach. It’s a ninth try for Northampton, with James crossing for the score. That was all about Furbank though, who ran the ball back and picked his gap, gliding through it and finding the right pass to find the support.

The visitors avoid the ignominy of the bagel, with Spring put into space and crossing for a consolation score. The conversion is good.

It’s just not Bayonne’s night. They think they have a consolation score, crossing for a try with a driving maul, but replays show that Northampton have held it up and the try is ruled out by the TMO.

Courtney Lawes spoke to TNT Sports ahead of the game, speaking of his desire to stay with Northampton if an agreement can be reached. Nobody was in any doubt of his quality before tonight, but he underlined his brilliance with another stunning display, capped off with this score.

How many of these Saints stars will be in the mix for England in the Six Nations in the coming months? It’s probably not something that the Northampton fans want to think about right now, but the quality of some of these performances will surely mean that a number of the Saints are in the England mix, not least the young winger Freeman, who has two caps to his name but hasn’t been in the equation for the national team for a little while.

Northampton give some of their stars a rest, with Waller, Davison, Mitchell and Lawes withdrawn with the win and the bonus point firmly in the bag.

Waller dives over from close range as the scores keep on coming. This sort of result could be the difference for Northampton if they need points difference in the final equation. The conversion is good this time.

It’s a hat-trick for Pearson, who picks up a dinked kick through from Smith and goes for the one-two with Freeman on his outside, staying in support for the return pass and crossing unchallenged. Smith’s relentless brilliance from the tee takes a brief dip as his tricky effort falls short.

Bayonne get the game back underway, but Saints come out firing at the start of the second half, with Courtney Lawes winning a turnover to put the pressure right back on the beleaguered visitors.

TNT Sports is the place to watch every minute of the action as the race to be crowned kings of Europe continues, with six more weekends of continental drama in store.

All 12 games from each round will be available to watch live on TNT Sports on discovery+.

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Watch the brilliant first try of the night that set Northampton on their way.

Six converted tries have seen Northampton blow Bayonne away in the most one-sided of first halves here, with the bonus point firmly in the bag and a significant points difference boost on the way too for the Pool 3 leaders. It doesn’t get much better than this.