Pau 27 - 35 Northampton

Full time

07 Dec 2025

Investec Champions Cup

Stage: Pool 4 Round 1

Stade du Hameau

Pau vs Northampton head to head

🎉 3

👏 1

🔥 1

😭 1

Northampton Saints defeated Section Paloise 35-27 in a thrilling Champions Cup encounter at Stade du Hameau. Facundo Isa opened the scoring for Paloise with a try, converted by Axel Desperes. However, James Ramm quickly responded for the Saints, with Fin Smith converting to level the scores. Paloise surged ahead again with another try from Gregoire Arfeuil, also converted by Desperes, but Ramm and Fraser Dingwall added further tries for Northampton before halftime. Early in the second half, Ramm received a red card, but the Saints remained resilient, with Alex Mitchell scoring a try shortly after. Despite the numerical disadvantage, Northampton held on, with Fin Smith's penalties and a late try from George Hendy sealing the victory. The match showcased strong performances from both teams, particularly from Desperes for Paloise and Smith for the Saints.

Broadcasters

Where to watch in: France, Ireland, United Kingdom

Weather

Temperature: 17.6°C (Feels like 17.8°C) Condition: Cloudy Wind: 4.2 km/h, gusting to 10.8 km/h Humidity: 68% Cloud Cover: 88%

Highlights

Events

Kickoff
19'

Try

Facundo Isa · Pau

5 - 0
19'

Conversion

Axel Desperes · Pau

7 - 0
31'

Try

James Ramm · Northampton

7 - 5
32'

Conversion

Fin Smith · Northampton

7 - 7
33'

Try

Gregoire Arfeuil · Pau

12 - 7
34'

Conversion

Axel Desperes · Pau

14 - 7
34'

Substitution

Guram Papidze on for Jon Zabala · Pau
36'

Try

Fraser Dingwall · Northampton

14 - 12
Halftime 14 - 12
Second Half
43'

Try

James Ramm · Northampton

14 - 17
47'

Penalty

Axel Desperes · Pau

17 - 17
47'

Red Card

James Ramm · Northampton
48'

Try

Gregoire Arfeuil · Pau

22 - 17
48'

Substitution

Ed Prowse on for JJ van der Mescht · Northampton
48'

Substitution

Henry Pollock on for Callum Chick · Northampton
49'

Conversion

Axel Desperes · Pau

24 - 17
49'

Substitution

Youri Delhommel on for Lucas Rey · Pau
49'

Substitution

Remi Seneca on for Alexandre Etchebehere · Pau
49'

Substitution

Mickael Capelli on for Remi Picquette · Pau
49'

Substitution

Reece Hewat on for Sacha Zegueur · Pau
50'

Try

Alex Mitchell · Northampton

24 - 22
51'

Conversion

Fin Smith · Northampton

24 - 24
56'

Substitution

Emmanuel Iyogun on for Danilo Fischetti · Northampton
56'

Substitution

Cleopas Kundiona on for Trevor Davison · Northampton
58'

Penalty

Fin Smith · Northampton

24 - 27
58'

Substitution

Thomas Souverbie on for Dan Robson · Pau
61'

Substitution

Robbie Smith on for Craig Wright · Northampton
62'

Substitution

Quentin Valentino on for Nathan Decron · Pau
63'

Penalty

Axel Desperes · Pau

27 - 27
74'

Substitution

Joel Kpoku on for Thomas Jolmes · Pau
74'

Substitution

Jon Zabala on for Guram Papidze · Pau
74'

Substitution

Sam Graham on for Tom Pearson · Northampton
76'

Try

George Hendy · Northampton

27 - 32
80'

Penalty

Fin Smith · Northampton

27 - 35
Fulltime 27 - 35

Player ratings

Pau

15 Aymeric Luc 7.5
14 Gregoire Arfeuil 6.8
13 Jack Maddocks 6.4
12 Nathan Decron 7.0
11 Clement Laporte 6.3
10 Axel Desperes 7.4
9 Dan Robson 7.1
1 Alexandre Etchebehere 6.7
2 Lucas Rey 6.9
3 Jon Zabala 5.4
4 Thomas Jolmes 6.5
5 Remi Picquette 5.7
6 Sacha Zegueur 6.0
7 Loic Credoz 7.5
8 Facundo Isa 6.6
16 Youri Delhommel 6.0
17 Remi Seneca 4.8
18 Guram Papidze 5.9
19 Mickael Capelli 5.9
20 Joel Kpoku –
21 Reece Hewat 5.9
22 Thomas Souverbie 5.7
23 Quentin Valentino 5.8

Northampton

15 George Furbank 6.6
14 James Ramm 6.8
13 Rory Hutchinson 5.4
12 Fraser Dingwall 7.2
11 George Hendy 7.9
10 Fin Smith 7.5
9 Alex Mitchell 7.9
1 Danilo Fischetti 6.4
2 Craig Wright 7.7
3 Trevor Davison 7.2
4 Alex Coles 7.2
5 JJ van der Mescht 6.9
6 Josh Kemeny 6.7
7 Tom Pearson 7.9
8 Callum Chick 6.6
16 Robbie Smith 6.6
17 Emmanuel Iyogun 6.7
18 Cleopas Kundiona 6.4
19 Ed Prowse 6.7
20 Henry Pollock 6.6
21 Sam Graham –
22 Tom James –
23 Toby Thame –