As Northampton skipper Furbank lifted the trophy on his final appearance before joining Harlequins, he leaves a Saints side who have become the team to beat in recent years.
Just three league defeats this season saw Saints top the table as they reached their third final in as many seasons, having won the Prem two years ago and made last season’s Champions Cup final.
While Furbank may be departing, Saints fans will hope that with stars such as Smith, man-of-the-match Pollock and Freeman forming the backbone of their side they will be coming back to Twickenham in the not too distant future.
For Exeter, even though they have lost a final for a fifth time in seven attempts, the game caps a remarkable revival after finishing ninth last season – the club’s worst top flight placing since promotion in 2010.
The Chiefs suffered a record 79-17 loss at Gloucester last April and won only four league games all season – two against weakened teams – as the Devon side looked to be in turmoil.
But new coaches and a number of new players such as Ikitau, Varney and Tom Hooper have reignited a side that dominated the domestic scene for the second half of the last decade.
With new American investment on the horizon, Chiefs will be hoping that, despite defeat, this is the start of another dynasty like that one that began a decade ago when they made six successive Premiership finals and won the 2020 European Champions Cup.
Northampton: Furbank (c); Freeman, Litchfield, Hutchinson, Hendy; Smith, McParland; Iyogun, Langdon, Millar Mills; Coles, Prowse, Kemeny, Pearson, Pollock.
Replacements: Wright, Fischetti, Green, Van der Mescht, Lockett, Chick, Mitchell, Dingwall.
Yellow card: Kemeny (51)
Exeter: Woodburn; Feyi-Waboso, Slade, Ikitau, Ridl; Skinner, Varney; Sio, Norey, Iosefa-Scott; Jenkins (c), Zambonin, Hooper, Roots, Fisilau.
Replacements: Dweba, Burger, Tchumbadze, Tshiunza, Vintcent, James, Cairns, Haydon-Wood.
Yellow card: Jenkins (57)
Referee: Matthew Carley.
