Northampton's 26-17 win over Exeter hailed as highest calibre final despite handling errors

It wasn't always top-quality rugby. But Northampton's 26-17 win over Exeter was a final of the highest calibre nonetheless.

A sweat-greased ball proved difficult to tame, even for two of the deftest teams in the league.

George Furbank spilled one simple chance to stroll in in the first half, shortly after Stephen Varney had juggled another at the other end, allowing a Northampton defender to sweep in and steal his legs from under him.

Saints' scrum-half Alex Mitchell shelled another gilt-edged opportunity as he slid in after the interval

Forty-seven minutes into the game, there had already been 19 handling errors - 11 from Northampton and eight from Exeter.

Line-outs and scrums alike were glitchy.

Defences were too tight and attacks too inaccurate to conjure the sort of free-scoring tryfest that has characterised some matches this Prem season.

Instead, every moment ached with importance. Every margin seemed like the knife-edge that might split the spoils one way or the other.

The final try summed it up. Exeter captain Dafydd Jenkins had served out his 10 minutes in the sin bin. He was waiting only for the next stoppage to rejoin the fray.

But ahead by two points, Northampton kept the ball, and their powerplay, alive for 13 phases.

When Fin Smith put his kick in behind the Exeter defence it was tracking towards the touchline, but a rogue bounce took it back infield. George Hendy dived and dotted down. Saints led by nine. And still did so at the final whistle.

Every small moment seemed to have a big impact on the outcome.

It was compelling viewing.

Fin Smith was only 12 years old at the time, but he will remember the thunderous viral hit put in by Saints legend Courtney Lawes on France fly-half Jules Plisson back in 2015., external

On an adjacent patch of Twickenham pitch, Smith got a taste of something similar, being levelled by a flying Ethan Roots 25 minutes into the game., external

No matter.

Smith dusted himself down, got back to his feet and was undeterred in playing physical and flat to the line.

He weighs in at less than 14 stone, but his appetite for the physical stuff is Jonny Wilkinson-esque at times.

Six minutes after Roots' shuddering shot, its victim was barging through Stephen Varney at short range for a try.

Overall, he carried 12 times and made 13 tackles, putting him third-highest in the Northampton ranks for both categories.

He made shrewd decisions, added momentum with ball in hand and was good off the tee, missing only a long-range penalty as his team wound down the clock, and a conversion from way out wide.

The day before this final, fly-half rival George Ford had a mixed night for a mix-and-match England side in their warm-up against a France XV in Vannes.

Smith is undoubtedly in pole position to be at 10 facing down the Springbok charge when England take on South Africa in their opening Test of the summer on 4 July.

Before kick-off, the contest was framed as the league's best attack (Northampton scored a record-breaking 104 tries in the regular season) against its best defence (Exeter conceded five fewer than any other team).

In the final 10 minutes - with the title on the line and lactic biting - it was the champions' defence that finally showed up, however.

Exeter had 92% of possession in that period, but made little impression on a brilliantly disciplined Northampton rearguard, with Fraser Dingwall, Alex Coles and JJ van der Mescht all making important hits, before Henry Pollock locked over Andrea Zambonin to secure a turnover that all but killed off Exeter's hopes.

Overall, Northampton missed 15 tackles, to Exeter's 39.

Northampton defence coach Lee Radford is signing off with this performance, heading to do the same role full-time with Scotland. Saints have leaked this year, but when it mattered most they were absolutely watertight.

Stephen Varney played 25 games of rugby last season. Appearing for Top 14 strugglers Vannes and Italy, he won two, drew one and lost the other 22.

Credit to Exeter's recruitment team for spotting that the Welsh-born scrum-half was developing in those defeats.

Varney explained earlier this month, external that playing in France meant, as is traditional across the Channel, more was expected of him as a leader and play-maker from nine.

He has brought that to the Prem and to its final, with one dead-eyed 50:22 the pick of his highlight moments.

He was busier and more effective than England international Alex Mitchell, who made his comeback from a strained hamstring off the bench after just 10 minutes.

Voted Exeter's Players' Player of the Season in his debut season at the club, the 25-year-old looks locked in as the club's first-choice scrum-half for a while to come.

Lots of clubs talk about the bond between their players, few convince as completely as Northampton.

You are lucky if you get to play in a team like that at any level. To do so at the very top is something that most neutrals can admire.