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SOUL OF SPORT: Northampton hold off a valiant effort from Bath to end ten-year wait for Premiership glory at Twickenham... with ANDY HOOPER on hand to capture all the action

5 months ago 31
  • Northampton secured their first title in a decade with a 25-21 win against Bath in the Premiership Rugby final
  • Bath were reduced to 14 men early on but continued to fight and took the showpiece event down to the wire 
  • Andy Hooper was in attendance at Twickenham to capture all the emotion and drama from the showdown

By Andy Hooper

Published: 08:33 BST, 10 June 2024 | Updated: 08:33 BST, 10 June 2024

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Welcome back to Soul of Sport, Mail Sport's photographic look at the best action across the sporting world.

For our latest episode, our man ANDY HOOPER captured all the action at as Northampton and Bath battled it out for Gallagher Premiership glory.

Nearly 82,000 fans crammed in to Twickenham to witness one of the most exhilarating events of the sporting calendar as two of the very best teams left it all on the line.


Ultimately though it was Northampton who put an end to a decade of hurt as they held off a fierce fightback to prevail 25-21.

Our cameraman captured the action using Nikon Z8 and Z9 cameras with 24-70mm and 70-200 lenses.

Supporters poured into Twickenham ahead of the Gallagher Rugby Premiership final between Bath and Northampton

Fans made sure to make their allegiances perfectly clear ahead of the showdown in south west London on Saturday afternoon

Even the youngest supporters were ready to show their colours and cheer their team on to victory in the showpiece event 

More than 81,000 fans were in attendance at Twickenham to witness history unfold between the two top-flight rivals

Fans waved flags to welcome out the teams on a sunny and hugely dramatic afternoon at the home of English rugby

Bath supporters continued to cheer their team on despite being reduced to 14 men after prop Beno Obano was sent off

Spectators couldn't help but try and get a closer look at the action after the game got underway on a pulsating afternoon

Saints got the game underway as they looked to put an end to a decade of hurt in the top flight and win just their second title

Former England star Courtney Lawes was playing his final game for boyhood club Northampton before moving on to Brive 

Saints scored the first try of the game courtesy of Tommy Freeman after 24 minutes, one of three tries they scored

Sam Vesty's side added a second try in the first half after Ollie Sleightholme kicked behind and collected his grubber kick

Saints fans were in ecstasy as their side used their numerical advantage to take a commanding lead and drive on to victory

Bath fought valiantly throughout though, and regrouped well after Beno Obano's red card, which came just 21 minutes in

Bath even managed to draw level, but Northampton's Alex Mitchell was on hand to finish off a great break from George Hendy

More than a decade after their last top flight triumph, Northampton fans wasted little time basking in their team's success

An emotional Finn Smith, a three-cap England international, celebrated with his family after the title had been secured

Saints will hope there is not another ten-year wait before they can enjoy another extremely memorable day

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