Freeman and Pater hat-tricks power Northampton to 59-26 rout of Newcastle Red Bulls

Tommy Freeman and James Pater each scored hat-tricks as Northampton Saints opened their Premiership campaign with a commanding 59-26 victory over Newcastle Red Bulls at Franklin’s Gardens, with head coach Phil Dowson nevertheless backing the newly rebranded visitors to challenge at the top of the division.

Saints ran in nine tries in total, with George Hendy, Alex Coles and Ollie Sleightholme also crossing the whitewash. Fin Smith converted five and Anthony Belleau added two more as Northampton were in control throughout, despite Newcastle’s battling display that included two yellow cards against them.

Newcastle claimed a four-try bonus point to salvage something from the evening. Christian Wade scored two of those tries, taking his Premiership tally to 95 — just six short of Chris Ashton’s all-time record. Cam Jordan and Werner Kok also touched down, with Zack Henry converting twice and Brett Connon once.

Dowson was full of praise for his opposite number’s rebuilt squad, which has recruited heavily since last season. “We want the Prem to be as competitive as it can and they showed tonight that they can be really good,” he said. “They’ve signed some unbelievable players and moved the ball well as they want to play fast.”

The Saints coach was also keen to highlight the contribution of Pater, who has stepped into the role vacated by England international George Furbank. “James Pater was excellent today. He kicked the winner against Saracens last year and showed he’s cold-blooded with an incredible skill-set,” Dowson said. “He’s replaced Furbs and it’s always difficult to choose who to keep as you are emotionally attached to players. James has replaced George in the same way as we allowed club captain Lewis Ludlam to go when we knew we had Henry Pollock coming through.”

Newcastle director of rugby Dan McFarland acknowledged the scale of the task but found encouragement in his side’s resilience. “They showed us complete respect by playing all their bangers but we kept at it and squeezed a bonus point at the end,” he said. “Conceding three tries in the period of our first yellow card was crucial and the try just before half-time was also a killer, but we had a lot of defensive sets which we can be proud of. We have a long journey ahead of us but we put in a lot of good stuff tonight, although they made us pay by pouncing on our errors as they are so good.”