Two freescoring sides opened their Prem seasons with big wins last week with Northampton Saints running in nine tries in a 59-26 victory over Newcastle while Bristol defied the odds to beat Sale Sharks 34-24 on the road.
The results in round one broke the record for the highest-scoring opening weekend but what caught the eye in Bristol’s performance was their defence.
They will need to be on their toes against a Saints side who led the way in Prem Rugby last season with a total of 104 tries but they can ensure the champions don’t run away with things again.
Bristol Bears v Northampton Saints Tips Summary
Best Bet - Northampton to win by 1-12 points @ 6/4
Alternative Bet - Tie-Northampton double result @ 18/1
Bet Builder - Northampton to win, Tommy Freeman to score a try, Louis Rees-Zammit to score a try @ 16/5
Bristol Bears v Northampton Saints Prediction
Best Bet: Northampton to win by 1-12 points @ 6/4
Bristol fans are probably still having nightmares about the 94-33 thrashing they suffered at the hands of Northampton last season but a handicap line of just five points in the Saints’ favour tells you that a repeat performance is not expected.
Bristol have become prone to leaking big scores - in 2024/25 they finished in the top four despite conceding the second-most tries.
However, in last week’s win at Sale, another club with big ambitions to improve, they won the praise of head coach Pat Lam for their physical display and tireless work in defence.
Clearly holding out against Northampton will be a far tougher task but the Saints will also know they face a big step up from last week’s win over Newcastle, who finished bottom again last season with only two victories.
And despite the impressive margin of victory for the Saints in their opening game, they did leak 26 points to a Newcastle side who topped the 25-point mark in only two of their matches last season.
The visitors look the right favourites but they look sure to be made to work for victory.
Alternative Bet: Tie-Northampton double result @ 18/1
Level scores are rare in rugby, where a team’s total can go up by three, five or seven with a single score. But tries were king in round one, when just two penalty goals were kicked and teams chose instead to kick for the corner from even the easiest positions in front of the posts.
Two enterprising teams look likely to keep up that trend, at least in the first half, and both sides have the attacking flair to serve up an end-to-end battle.
Bristol Bears v Northampton Saints Bet Builder Tip
- Northampton to win
- Tommy Freeman to score a try
- Louis Rees-Zammit to score a try
Pays 16/5
Northampton lost only three games in the 2025/26 regular season - two of them in the final four rounds when their play-off place already looked assured - and the strength of their squad makes them solid favourites to bank a second win of the campaign at Bristol.
Seven of the nine tries they scored last week came from their starting back three - and another from replacement winger Ollie Sleightholme - while two of Bristol’s five tries, and two of the three they conceded, came from wingers.
Out wide is where the spaces look set to appear as two physical and hard-working packs go head to head, and it makes sense to pick the standout tryscorers from both teams to get in on the action again.
Tommy Freeman, last season’s joint-top tryscorer, kicked off with a hat-trick in round one and moves from the wing to full-back this week, while Bristol winger Louis Rees-Zammit picked up a double in the win over Sale.
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Key Match Stats
- Six of Bristol's seven defeats last season were by a double-figure margin
- The last eight Premiership meetings between these clubs have yielded points totals of 127, 58, 79, 54, 73, 60, 70 and 76
- Northampton were the leading scorers in the Premiership last season racking up 104 tries in 18 matches
- The last meeting between these teams ended in a Premiership record scoreline as Saints ran out 94-33 winners
- Northampton's James Pater and Tommy Freeman both ran in hat-tricks in last week's 59-26 victory over Newcastle
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This article was written by a partner sports writer via Spotlight Sports Group. All odds displayed on this page were correct at the time of writing and are subject to withdrawal or change at any time.
