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Saints Fans Expect to see trophies
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.
Doug Howlett Scores a Try for Munster vs. Northampton @ Thomond
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Shepherd Threatens to Sue Northampton
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.