Northampton Rugby

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.