Saints' double hat-trick heroics
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Northampton Saints ran riot in Italy to top Pool Five going into the new year – and they did it in record style.
Their 11 tries and 67 points winning margin against Benetton Treviso were both new club bests in Europe, beating the 47 winning margin and 10 tries scored against Overmach Parma back in the 2006/07 tournament.
There were try hat-tricks for Ken Pisi and Samu Manoa in the 67-0 romp with Director of Rugby Jim Mallinder praising the team's ruthless finishing.
"It was clinical," said Mallinder.
"Right from the start we talked about being clinical, being ruthless and keeping it going for the full 80 minutes.
"Even though we saw a bit of magic in that last 20 minutes with some really nice passes and really nice attacking play, I was pleased with the whole 80 minutes.
"We got our basics right, got our set piece eight, put them under pressure early on and scored some cracking tries."
In the previous two years, Saints have endured a mixed December, losing to Ulster and Leinster before beating the Irish sides on their own turf.
"We're fortunate with the draw," added Mallinder.
"To get Treviso has helped us this season.
"In the past, we've had Ulster and Leinster as our back-to-back games and that's really, really difficult. It tests you.
"We've been able to give opportunities to some players, freshen a few up and so hopefully we're in good shape in the next few weeks back in the Premiership.
"We didn't get too carried away, we didn't play seven-a-side rugby, we kept our shape, kept our discipline and it was a good, professional performance."
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