Category: Uncategorized

Saints Fans Expect to see trophies

Posted on October 10, 2012 in Uncategorized

Aviva Premiership Rugby Union side the Northampton Saints are in a good position and they are primed and ready to meet the high expectations of the fans of the club this season, according to Jim Mallinder, the Director of Rugby of the club. The Saints reached the finals of the European Cup, the Heineken Cup back in 2011 and have been playoff semi finalists in the Aviva Premiership on three occasions as well and Mallinder believes that the club should now go out and win a major title.

Speaking to BBC Northampton, Mallinder stated that he understood the expectation from the club; The Saints are one of the biggest clubs in the country with a huge fan base spread throughout the country and it is justified on the part of the fans that they come to see a team capable of winning trophies. He added that the players and the coaching staff are aware of the expectations from the Northampton Saints and that is the main reason that they want to deliver success – for the fans.

It was just during the 2007/08 season that The Saints were playing rugby in the National League 1, but under the stewardship of Mallinder and the expert coaching of Paul Grayson and Dorian West, the club has established itself as one of the top four clubs in the Premiership as well as a contender for the European Cup. Mallinder admitted that when the players and management look back at the previous season, they missed a lot of players due to their international commitments in the World Cup as well as the autumn internationals.

However, Mallinder praised the ability of the Northampton Saints to come back from the dead to be within just 5 minutes of reaching their first ever playoff final for the Premiership.

Shepherd Threatens to Sue Northampton

Posted on August 23, 2012 in Uncategorized

Cameron Shepherd, the full back for the Australian international rugby team has threatened to sue Aviva Premiership Rugby Union club the Northampton Saints for apparently pulling out of an agreement to sign him. The club made a formal announcement back in May that the 28 year old Australian would be joining the side after being given a three year deal at Franklin’s Gardens.

However, earlier in August, they a announced that they have pulled out of the deal, and cited fitness and health concerns and fellow Aviva Premiership side the Sale Sharks swooped for his signature. And now, the agent of Shepherd has come out with a statement that he was absolutely appalled at the behavior of the club towards him. According to reports, the player’s suspect left ankle made the club skeptical about moving for his signature and this ultimately led the Northampton Saints to call the deal off.

And his agent clarified that his agent has taken the expert opinion of leading orthopedic surgeons in the country as well as that of the doctors at his former club Western Force and according to them, the consensus was that there is absolutely nothing wrong with his left ankle. The statement further added that since then, Shepherd has undergone a medical and was deemed fit enough for the Sale Sharks to sign him and this puts lots of holes in the theories conjured up by The Saints.

At the time of calling off the deal with him, Jim Mallinder, the Director of Rugby of the Northampton Saints had stated that the club was not certain that he would be able to handle the rigors of a long and tough season with the club; but the statement of Shepherd and his agent show that there might still be a twist to the tale.

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Kudos Tie-up with Northampton Saints

Posted on July 30, 2012 in Uncategorized

Kudos, the events caterer, has put pen to paper on a £ 12 million contract with the Aviva Premiership Rugby Union side the Northampton Saints for the next 7 years. The deal will see the catering giants take over the stadium hospitality as well as the public catering services at The Jimmies’ Franklin’s Gardens Stadium, starting from the 2012/13 season. This is one of the most lucrative deals that will see The Saints become one of the top earning sides in the division alongside the likes of Saracens FC and Harlequins FC as they have gone a long way in securing a safe future for the club in terms of finances.

Kudos, which is owned by Crown Group, will be providing food during the home matches to the hospitality suites, corporate boxes, bars as well as the public retail outlets as part of their match day services. Moreover, they will also look after all the catering services as well as venue management at non-match day programs which includes private parties, corporate events at the events’ space and conference centre of the stadium.

According to Jon Pryce, the Managing Director of Kudos, the catering giant is absolutely thrilled at being able to secure with the Northampton Saints and they are looking forward to providing the best culinary as well as retail expertise to the club’s Franklin’s Gardens Stadium. The stadium is currently under a redevelopment project which will see new lounges, bars as well as conference facilities installed inside the stadium as part of a multi-million pound package.

Allan Robson, the Chief Executive Officer of the Northampton Saints also expressed his excitement at the prospect of partnering one of the biggest names in the culinary industry in England and was looking forward to a long and successful relationship with the company.

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Harrison Targets Saxons Spot

Posted on June 8, 2012 in Uncategorized

Teimana Harrison, the highly rated youngster in the playing roster of the Aviva Premiership side the Northampton Saints has made clear his decision to play for the English national team in the near future.

Originally hailing from Opitiki, a small village town in New Zealand, the 19 year old has his eyes firmly set on a berth in The Saxons squad after his breakthrough season for The Jimmies earned him plaudits from all sections of the game in England. The youngster broke into the first team of The Saints in the business end of the season after he impressed the management with his performance while playing for the Wanderers.

The teenager swapped his motherland to play for The Jimmies in the Aviva Premiership after the club captain Dylan Hartley recommended the player to recruitment and development manager Dusty Hare. The youngster had caught the eye of Hartley as he had seen him perform prior to the kick off of the Rugby World Cup in his homeland. And since his arrival, it was not only Hartley who was blown away by his performances but also the entire Northampton Saints management who saw him put up some powerful performances for the second side.

And now that he has made the breakthrough into the first team, Harrison is hoping to nail down a regular spot in the first 15 and knows that this will earn him a spot in The Saxons lineup in a year or so. And the Northampton Saints are also eager to hold on to him for a long time as it has been revealed by team boss Jim Mallinder that the club has already secured his services for this year.

Now that they have tied him up, it’s worth watching if The Jimmies turn him into a world class player.

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CLARK BANNED

Posted on May 10, 2012 in Uncategorized

It is less than four weeks since Northampton’s Calum Clark was suspended for 32 weeks for breaking the elbow of Leicester’s Rob Hawkins. Clark deliberately hyper extended Hawkins’ arm to cause what Richard Cockerill described as “as bad an injury as I have seen on a rugby field”.

Cockerill’s opposite number, Jim Mallinder has admitted he is finding it hard to put the incident and the fallout from it behind him as he prepares to face the Tigers again this weekend. In particular Mallinder has been critical of Cockerill’s outburst, which is seemingly the polar opposite of Mallinder’s reaction to another controversial incident in last year’s Premiership final when Manu Tuilagi was banned for five weeks for punching Chris Ashton. Mallinder’s reaction was far more controlled than Cockerill’s.
Aside from the Clark incident, Cockerill was also involved in a confrontation with Saints’ forwards coach, Dorian West after the game. The West Midlands derby clashes between the two sides have become ever more fiery in recent years and this weekend’s promises to be equally so with both sides in contention for play off places in the final weeks of the season.

With Saints, Mallinder and Clark all adamant that there was no intent to injury in the elbow breaking incident there is bound to be some friction when the two sides meet again this weekend. In spite of the insistence from Clark at the hearing into his misconduct the panel still found him guilty and handed a hefty ban which will see Clark banned from Rugby until November 2.

Clark will be missed in the Saints run in and Mallinder whilst disappointed is hoping his side can respond in the remainder of the season and secure a play off place starting with a result against the Tigers this weekend. He is keen that this tie will be played at the same intensity as recent clashes without the controversy that has marred the side’s recent games.

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NORTHAMPTON SIGN STEPHENSON

Posted on April 18, 2012 in Uncategorized

Aviva Premiership side the Northampton Saints have always been known as a side that invests in youth and that was once again proved when Jim Mallinder signed youngster Tom Stephenson for the senior academy of the club, dubbing him as a player for the future. The Saints have also confirmed on their website that New Zealand winger Teimana Harrison, who recently came off the bench for the club against the London Wasps for his first game for The Saints as well as Jack Allcock, another winger, will also join the senior academy of the club at the start of the next season.

The 17 year old Stephenson was with the Wanderers last season and he was a mainstay of the club’s reserve side. He is being considered as a future captain of the Scotland rugby team and is currently captaining the country’s Under – 18 side and has shown immense maturity and strength that will fool anyone about his age.

According to Mallinder, the boss of the Northampton Saints, Tom Stephenson has been a standout performer for his Wanderers side as well as the England national team in the Under – 18 division and it was his outstanding performances that make him one of the best performances and a signing for the future for The Saints. Mallinder also added that in his very short stint with the senior academy of the club, he has impressed the coaches immensely who are already pinning their hopes on the youngster as a potential superstar to lead the club to the top in a few years’ time.

The Northampton Saints are considered as a club with immense potential and it is only a matter of time that they translate that potential to trophies and it with Stephenson on board, the future looks all the more bright for the side.

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