On 7 April 2024, in entrance of a frothing Franklin’s Gardens, George Hendy’s life modified without end. He’d solely been on the pitch a matter of seconds as a substitute for Burger Odendaal when, on the hour mark and with their Champions Cup knock-out tie towards Munster locked at 14-14, Northampton had the feed to a line-out inside their very own 22.
Few membership sides wherever on the earth have matched the efficiency of the Saints’ backline this season, however even by their requirements this was blockbuster. Fast ball off the highest had 22-year-old Fin Smith transferring from the entrance foot. Fraser Dingwall – a comparative veteran at 25 – straightened and drew a deal with. Ollie Sleightholme, 24, supplied assist and burst by way of a niche earlier than linking with 23-year-old Tommy Freeman. By the point the ball made its technique to 21-year-old Hendy, Munster’s gamers have been greedy at shadows because the flaming-haired teen slid over within the nook, sticking his tongue out as he did so.
“It was unimaginable,” Hendy tells RugbyPass as his workforce gears up for a Premiership closing showdown with Bathtub at Twickenham. “To attain with my first contact, and to spherical off such a superb workforce strive, that was actually a second I’ll always remember. That was one thing we practiced week in and week out so to have the ability to execute that in a sport was actually particular. However the second was perhaps even higher.”
Now with their noses in entrance and with eight minutes left on the clock, Northampton sought a killer blow. Round Munster’s 22, the boys in inexperienced, black and gold flung passes down the aisle with a bouncing ball reaching Hendy on his heels and round 30 metres away from the strive line. He gathered on the half-volley, pinned his ears again, brushed previous Jack Crowley, shrugged off Simon Zebo and dotted down a match-clinching stunner.
“It’s been a whirlwind since then,” he explains. “In the event you had stated that this may have been the place I’d be in, then I’d have bitten your hand off. That sport was nearly like, blink and also you’ll miss it. It was onerous to take all of it in. I used to be really in a little bit of shock after the sport to be sincere.”
English followers aren’t the one rugby supporters who veer into hyperbole every time a younger winger bursts on the scene. However the record of prospects able to breaking try-scoring information for the Crimson Rose is lengthy and rising longer.
The most recent hotshot is Exeter’s Immanuel Feyi-Waboso who has already left a mark on the Check enviornment. Earlier than him it was Leicester’s Ollie Hassell-Collins. Earlier than him was Henry Arundell, who’s lightning in a bottle expertise now appears like a distant storm following his transfer to France.
I strive to not evaluate myself to different wingers. It’s a slippery slope. You can begin attempting to be one thing that you just’re not. I’m doing my finest to regulate what I can management and that’s actually simply my very own sport.
“I strive to not evaluate myself to different wingers,” Hendy says. “It’s a slippery slope. You can begin attempting to be one thing that you just’re not. I’m doing my finest to regulate what I can management and that’s actually simply my very own sport. I’m doing my finest to regulate my feelings on the pitch as a lot as potential. I’m conscious that followers and perhaps some journalists prefer to make comparisons. I get it, it’s good for the story. However I’m simply being me. I do know that if I carry out at my finest I can do some injury.”
Earlier than the ultimate towards Bathtub, Hendy had performed 20 senior matches for Northampton: 15 Premiership video games and 5 Champions Cup ties. Apparently he’s not the top-ranked participant throughout any key metric and all the time has a competitor above him.
🗣️ “Northampton have multiple foot within the quarter-final.”
🌟 Some particular person magic from George Hendy to increase Northampton’s lead!#InvestecChampionsCup | #NORvMUN pic.twitter.com/ogs1HUUlsO
— ITV Rugby (@ITVRugby) April 7, 2024
When every participant’s first 20 video games alone, Feyi-Waboso has a better proportion of dominant carries (67%) to Hendy’s (50%). Freeman, in his first 20 matches for Saints, averaged extra line-breaks per sport (1.34) and made extra carries (9.64) than Hendy (0.99 and seven.74). Utilizing this time frame, Max Malins made extra break assists and had higher deal with success than Hendy, Jack Rowell had extra strive involvements per sport than Hendy, Sleightholme scored extra tries per sport than Hendy and Hassel-Collins made extra tackles per sport than Hendy.
What the numbers don’t reveal is what he appears to be like like with a ball in his hand at full gallop. His wild hair, his rangy limbs, his wiggling hips; it’s an unorthodox fashion that’s proving a nightmare for even seasoned defenders. Not lengthy after his double strike towards Munster, a number of commentators and pundits started noticing similarities between Hendy and France’s strive machine, Damian Penaud.
George is a very skilful man and might flip his hand to a number of sports activities. He’s such athlete. And he’s powerful. Put that in entrance of individuals and he comes out the opposite facet much more usually than he will get stopped.
Sam Vesty
“Another person has stated that,” Sam Vesty, Northampton’s head coach, acknowledged. “Why not? He’s George Hendy-esque, although. He’s a very skilful man and might flip his hand to a number of sports activities. He’s such athlete. And he’s powerful. Put that in entrance of individuals and he comes out the opposite facet much more usually than he will get stopped. He beats that first man so usually.”
The Ginger-Penaud or ‘Flexible Hendy’ as his Saints teammates name him, is a late bloomer within the sport. “Till a 12 months or two in the past my favorite sport was really cricket,” he reveals. “I nonetheless play generally for my village workforce. I represented a number of district sides in Warwickshire after I was youthful. I’m a ‘keeper-batsman. A really tall ‘keeper however my lengthy arms assist.
“My dad is definitely a eager cricketer and all the time inspired me to tackle the game. However sadly I used to be by no means pretty much as good at cricket as I used to be at rugby.”
Not that his expertise was all the time obvious. Three years in the past – across the time he began considering a profession in rugby – he was minimize from Northampton’s academy as a number of of his teammates round him have been supplied skilled offers. “I used to be initially advised I wasn’t going to get a contract,” Hendy says. “I used to be simply planning to go to college then and was fairly disillusioned. However I had a number of academy league video games left to play and simply thought, ‘you’ve acquired nothing to lose’. So I went on the market and performed with this freedom. I didn’t overthink, I simply let my physique act. And it was a number of the finest rugby I’d ever performed. After these video games they supplied me a contract and I used to be in. However I didn’t anticipate to be the place I’m now.”
Although he does his finest to not heed the comparisons with Penaud – regardless of his mum sharing by way of WhatsApp each article that mentions her son – he recognises that such discuss can solely be a optimistic. “Look, it’s good to be spoken about in the identical sentence as a man like that,” he concedes. “It should imply I’m doing one thing proper. I’ve all the time been a reasonably elusive runner and I’ve now acquired a bit extra energy and dimension, so I’m in a position to bust by way of tackles. I’m additionally considering extra as I run, on the lookout for a defender’s smooth shoulder, looking for mismatches, that type of factor. However, as we’ve stated already, the hype round younger gamers can get out of hand. I simply need to hold doing what I’m doing.
“Enjoying for Saints is finally one of the best factor for me. We’re taking part in a number of the most attacking rugby i’ve ever seen, not to mention been part of. Each coaching session is recent and attacking and thrilling. Each participant trusts the man subsequent to him and we’re loving it. We’re all mates and all of us have the identical mindset which is to take pleasure in what we’re doing. Rugby is meant to be enjoyable. I hope it’s clear that we’re loving the fashion of rugby that the coaches have us taking part in. Hopefully that may carry us some silverware.”
