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| ground = [[Franklin's Gardens]]
| ground = [[Franklin's Gardens]]
| capacity = 13,591<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.premiershiprugby.com/premiership/rugby/northampton_saints.php
| capacity = 13,591<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.premiershiprugby.com/premiership/rugby/northampton_saints.php
= [[Stadium:MK]] Later Rounds of Heineken Cup
| = [[Stadium:MK]] Later Rounds of Heineken Cup
| location = Weedon Road, [[Northampton]]
| location = Weedon Road, [[Northampton]]
NN5 5BG , England
NN5 5BG , England

Revision as of 14:30, 26 April 2011

Northampton Saints
File:Northampton saints badge.png
Full nameNorthampton Saints RFC
Nickname(s)Jimmies[citation needed], the Saints
Founded1880
Ground(s)Franklin's Gardens (Capacity: 13,591[1])
ChairmanEngland Keith Barwell
Coach(es)England Jim Mallinder
Captain(s)England Dylan Hartley
Most capsEngland Ron Jacobs 470
Top scorerEngland Paul Grayson 1,278
Most triesEngland Teddy Cook 219
League(s)Aviva Premiership
2009–102nd (lost semi-final play off)
1st kit
2nd kit
Largest win
Saints 96 – 3 Sedgley Park
(2008)
Largest defeat
London Wasps 54 – 12 Saints
(2000)
Official website
www.northamptonsaints.co.uk

Northampton Saints is a professional English rugby union club from Northampton, England. The Northampton Saints were formed in 1880. They play in green, black and gold colours. They play their home games at Franklin's Gardens, which has a capacity of 13,591.

The club won their first major trophy when they defeated Munster in the 1999-2000 Heineken Cup final. Recent success has involved winning The 2008–09 European Challenge Cup, The 2009–10 LV Cup and consistently maintaining a playoff position in the Guinness Premiership. The Northampton Saints have reached the Semi Finals of the 2010–11 Heineken Cup, the only English club to do so.

Their main rivals are Leicester Tigers. "The East Midland Derby" is one of the fiercest rivalries in English Rugby Union.

History

Early years

The club was established in 1880 under the original title of Northampton St. James (Saints) by Rev Samuel Wathen Wigg, a local clergyman and curate of St. James who was a resident of the nearby village of Milton Malsor in the house known as 'Mortimers'.[2] This is how the club got its two nicknames of The Saints or Jimmies. His original concept was to promote "order" to his younger parish members by creating a youth rugby club, with the philosophy of a "hooligan sport designed to turn them into gentlemen".

It was not long before Northampton had one of the major rugby union teams in the country. Twenty years after its establishment, the first Saints player, local farmer Harry Weston, was awarded an England cap.

As the club progressed through the early years of the 20th century one player dominated this era for the club, Edgar Mobbs. Edgar was a hero throughout the town. He was the first Northampton player to captain his country but is best remembered for his exploits in World War I. After initially being turned down as too old, Edgar raised his own "Sportsman's" battalion otherwise known as Mobbs Own. Edgar was sadly killed in battle, leading his battalion over the top by kicking a rugby ball into No-Mans land on 29 July 1917 attacking a machine gun post and his body was never found. The club arranged the Mobbs Memorial Match as a tribute. It had been played every year since 1921 between the Barbarians and East Midlands at Franklin's Gardens.

In this postwar period the Saints continued to grow, and they started to produce some of the best players in England, some of whom went on to captain their country. They were one of the driving forces in the English game for the next 60 years producing players such as Butterfield, Jeeps, Longland, White and Jacobs but hard times were ahead.

The club failed to keep pace with movements within the game and top players were no longer attracted to the Gardens, where a 'them and us' mentality had built up between the players and those in charge of the club. Some former players formed their own task force which swept out the old brigade in the 1988 'Saints Revolution' and put a plan into action which would put the club back at the top of the English game.

Barry Corless, as director of rugby, set about restructuring the club and soon the Saints were back on the way up, helped by the signing of All Blacks legend Wayne 'Buck' Shelford.

In 1990, Northampton Rugby Union Football Club gained promotion to the then First Division and the following year made their first trip to Twickenham to play Quins in the Pilkington Cup Final. They lost in extra time but the foundations of a good Saints line-up were beginning to show in the following few seasons.

Tim Rodber and Ian Hunter forced their way into the England setup while youngsters like Matt Dawson and Nick Beal came through the ranks.

In 1994, Ian McGeechan took over as Director of Rugby, and although the club were relegated in his first season, they returned in style the next season, winning every single game of their campaign and averaging 50 points a game. This season is referred to by many fans of the club as the "Demolition Tour of Division Two".

Professional era

Bruce Reihana

In 1995, rugby union turned professional and the club was taken over by current chairman local businessman Keith Barwell.

In 1999, Saints came runners-up in the Allied Dunbar Premiership, their league campaign climaxing with a crucial home local derby with eventual winners Leicester Tigers which they lost 15–22.[3] Ian McGeechan had left the club at the end of the previous season to return to coach Scotland, and was replaced by former Saints player John Steele who had done well on a limited budget at London Scottish. Steele relied on the foundations laid by McGeechan, as well as the inspirational captaincy of Samoan Pat Lam to lead the club to European success the following season.

In 1999–2000, the club became a Public Limited Company (Plc) and shares were issued to the public; in this season the Saints lost in the Tetley's Bitter Cup Final to Wasps, but beat Munster 9–8 in the European Cup Final to win their first major trophy.

After a poor start to the 2001/2002 season, former All-Black coach Wayne Smith was appointed as Head Coach. He went on to transform the club in five short months. A team who looked down and out in November were moulded into a side that reached the Powergen Cup final and again qualified for the Heineken Cup. Travis Perkins became the club's main sponsor in 2001.[4]

In recent times the club narrowly survived relegation from the Premiership, after the then coach (Alan Solomons) was sacked in the middle of the 2004–5 season. The coaching role was passed onto the former first team mates Budge Pountney and Paul Grayson to tide the team over. They had a slow start in the 2005–6 season, but continued to stay mainly unbeaten after the New Year. Budge retired at the start of the 2006–7 season leaving Grayson in overall control.

The Saints would again compete in the 2006-07 Heineken Cup. They finished second in their pool, behind Biarritz Olympique, the runners-up from the previous season. Northampton qualified for the quarter-finals and actually met Biarritz in Spain. Despite being in last place of the English league at the time, they defeated the French champions 7–6 to advance to the semi-finals.

On 28 April 2007, despite a 27–22 victory over London Irish at Franklin's Gardens, Northampton were relegated from the Guinness Premiership. A "behind the scenes restructure" led to the brief appointment of Peter Sloane as Head Coach, from the role of forwards coach. Paul Grayson became the skills and backs coach.

On 9 June 2007, Northampton announced that England Saxons coach Jim Mallinder would become the new head coach and Director of Rugby, with his assistant Dorian West also following as assistant coach. Peter Sloane has since left the club.

On 22 March 2008, Northampton beat Exeter Chiefs to ensure their promotion and a return to the Guinness Premiership. On 12 April 2008, Northampton beat Exeter Chiefs 24–13 at Twickenham Stadium to win the EDF trophy. On 26 April 2008 they ended their National Division One season undefeated with 30 wins from 30 games.

In the 2008–09 season, the Saints easily avoided the drop, finishing eighth on the table. They also lifted the European Challenge Cup, defeating French side Bourgoin 15–3 in the final on 22 May 2009 at The Stoop in London.[5] The victory gave them a place in the 2009–10 Heineken Cup.

In March 2010, the Saints won the LV= Cup final against Gloucester Rugby 30–24, gaining them their fourth piece of silverware in three years, and a place in the following season's Heineken Cup. They also finished second in the Guinness Premiership, losing to Saracens 19–21 in the semi-final played at Franklin's Gardens, and progressed as far as the quarter-finals of the Heineken Cup losing to Munster at Thomond Park, Limerick.

Stadium

Northampton Saints have played at Franklin's Gardens since 1880, when the club was born. Franklin's Gardens is a purpose-built rugby stadium near the town centre. It is about 1,250m from the train station and about 2,000m from the bus station. The stadium holds 13,591 people. The stadium also has 40 corporate boxes. Each can hold from 8 to 24 people. The four stands are: Tetleys Stand; Burrda South Stand; Church's Stand; and Sturtridge Pavilion. It is also a multi-functional conference centre as well as the only UK Guinness Premiership ground with its own cenotaph. The Northampton board recently announced they would be applying to increase capacity to 17,000 with the redevelopment of the North Stand.[2] This would be funded by a £40 million investment by supermarket chain Asda, who would build a new store on the land currently used as training pitches.[2] Northampton Saints had an unbeaten home record that stretched from March 2007 to March 2009, much of this record was set during the Saints' 2007/08 promotion from the RFU Championship (previously National Division One). During the 2008/09 Guinness Premiership regular season the Saints only lost at Franklin's Gardens on one occasion, to the Newcastle Falcons.

The average attendance at the Gardens this season is 13,428.

Heineken Cup

On 24 January 2011, the club announced that their forthcoming Heineken Cup quarter final match against Ulster is to take place in the Stadium:MK in Milton Keynes, because the Franklin's Gardens ground is too small to meet the minimum 15,000 seats demanded by the organisers.[6] It was a game they would eventually win, beating Ulster 23-13.

The Saints had previously indicated that they might play future major games at Stadium:mk as their proposal to expand Franklin's Gardens using an enabling (ASDA supermarket) development has encountered planning difficulties.[7]

Current standings

Template:2010-11 Aviva Premiership Table

Kit

In 2008, after being promoted from the championship to the premiership, Saints changed from Kooga to Rhino. After two years with Rhino, and coming second in the table, Saints switched again to BURRDA, a Swiss sports apparel company. Northampton have signed a four year deal with BURRDA which have brought back the old fashioned ring but with a modern twist for the home shirt and the away shirt with its black and gold ring with a peppermint light green background. This is a big step for Burrda because the Saints and the Scarlets are BURRDA's first rugby teams that they have supplied kit to.

Players

Head coach/director of rugby

First team

Academy

  • Alan Dickens – Academy manager
  • Dusty Hare – Academy recruitment and development manager
  • Mark Hopley – Academy coach
  • Ross Stewart – Elite Player Development Group manager

Current squad

Note: Flags indicate national union under World Rugby eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-World Rugby nationality.

Player Position Union
Dylan Hartley Hooker England England
Andy Long Hooker England England
Brett Sharman Hooker England England
Regardt Dreyer Prop South Africa South Africa
Tom Mercey Prop England England
Brian Mujati Prop South Africa South Africa
Ben Prescott Prop Scotland Scotland
Soane Tonga'uiha Prop Tonga Tonga
Alex Waller Prop England England
Christian Day Lock England England
Adam Eustace Lock England England
Courtney Lawes Lock England England
Mark Sorenson Lock New Zealand New Zealand
Daniel Vickerman Lock Australia Australia
Calum Clark Flanker England England
Phil Dowson Flanker England England
Mark Easter Flanker England England
Tom Wood Flanker England England
James Ingle Number 8 England England
Roger Wilson Number 8 Ireland Ireland
Player Position Union
Stuart Commins Scrum-half South Africa South Africa
Lee Dickson Scrum-half England England
Ryan Glynn Scrum-half England England
Ryan Powell Scrum-half Wales Wales
Joe Ford Fly-half England England
Shane Geraghty Fly-half England England
Stephen Myler Fly-half England England
Joe Ansbro Centre Scotland Scotland
Jon Clarke Centre England England
Matt Cornwell Centre England England
James Downey Centre Ireland Ireland
Scott Armstrong Wing England England
Chris Ashton Wing England England
Paul Diggin Wing England England
Jamie Elliott Wing England England
Bruce Reihana Wing New Zealand New Zealand
Ben Foden Fullback England England
Greig Tonks Fullback England England

Internationals

Current England Elite Squad

Superposition Name Position Date Of Birth (Age) Previous Club Notes
Forwards Dylan Hartley Hooker (1986-03-24) March 24, 1986 (age 38) Worcester Warriors
Courtney Lawes Lock (1989-02-23) February 23, 1989 (age 35) Youth
Tom Wood Flanker (1986-11-03) November 3, 1986 (age 38) Worcester Warriors
Backs Chris Ashton Wing (1987-03-29) March 29, 1987 (age 37) Wigan Warriors
Ben Foden Full Back (1985-07-22) July 22, 1985 (age 39) Sale Sharks

Current England Saxons Squad

Superposition Name Position Date Of Birth (Age) Previous Club Notes
Forwards Christian Day Lock (1983-06-24) June 24, 1983 (age 41) Stade Français
Phil Dowson Flanker (1981-10-01) October 1, 1981 (age 43) Newcastle Falcons
Backs Jon Clarke Centre (1983-10-22) October 22, 1983 (age 41) Bristol Rugby
Stephen Myler Fly Half (1984-07-21) July 21, 1984 (age 40) Salford City Reds

Internationally capped players

Transfers 2011–12

Players In

Players Out

International caps in the club's history

Club honours

Seasons summary

Season Premiership Domestic Cup European Cup
Competition Final position Points Competition Performance Competition Performance
2009–10 Guinness Premiership 2nd 71 LV Cup 1st 2009–10 Heineken Cup Quarter-finals
2008–09 Guinness Premiership 8th 49 EDF Energy Cup Semi-finalists European Challenge Cup Champions
2007–08 RFU Championship 1st N/A EDF Energy Trophy 1st N/A N/A
2006–07 Guinness Premiership 12th 33 EDF Energy Cup 4th in pool 2006–07 Heineken Cup Semi-finals
2005–06 Guinness Premiership N/A N/A Powergen Cup 2nd in pool European Challenge Cup N/A
2004–05 Zurich Premiership N/A N/A Powergen Cup N/A European Shield N/A
2003–04 Zurich Premiership N/A N/A Powergen Cup N/A European Shield N/A
2002–03 Zurich Premiership N/A N/A Powergen Cup 2nd European Shield N/A
2001–02 Zurich Premiership N/A N/A Powergen Cup 2nd European Shield N/A
2000–01 Zurich Premiership N/A N/A Powergen Cup N/A European Shield N/A
1999–00 Allied Dunbar Premiership 2nd N/A Tetley Bitter 2nd 1999–00 Heineken Cup Champions

See also

References

  1. ^ "Clubs : Northampton Saints". Weedon Road, Northampton NN5 5BG , England: Premiership Rugby. 2010-11-26. Retrieved 2010-12-20. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |= ignored (help); Unknown parameter |countryflag= ignored (help); line feed character in |location= at position 30 (help)CS1 maint: location (link)
  2. ^ "Rev Samuel Wathem Wigg at Milton Malsor Historical Society". Retrieved 2008-11-14.
  3. ^ "Rugby Union | Leicester move out of sight". BBC News. 1999-03-13. Retrieved 2010-12-20.
  4. ^ Northampton Saints, northamptonsaints.co.uk Retrieved 30 November 2010
  5. ^ Pryor, Matthew (2009-05-23). "Northampton lift European Challenge Cup". The Times. London. Retrieved 2009-05-26.
  6. ^ Northampton forced to move Ulster tie to Milton Keynes– BBC Sport
  7. ^ Northampton Saints chief considering Stadium MK move BBC Sport 27 August 2010
  8. ^ "Northampton Saints sign Saracens wing Noah Cato". BBC News. 5 April 2011.
  9. ^ "Northampton sign prop Paul Doran-Jones from Gloucester". BBC News. 31 January 2011.
  10. ^ "Northampton Saints sign Martin Roberts & Ryan Lamb". BBC News. 18 March 2011.
  11. ^ "Northampton Saints snap up Toulon's Tom May". BBC News. 7 February 2011.
  12. ^ "Northampton Saints sign Russia international Artemiev". BBC News. 9 March 2011.
  13. ^ "Northampton Saints line up George Pisi for next term". BBC News. 1 March 2011.
  14. ^ "Northampton Saints bring in USA lock forward Samu Manoa". BBC News. 18 April 2011.
  15. ^ "Northampton Saints sign Martin Roberts & Ryan Lamb". BBC News. 18 March 2011.
  16. ^ "Sale to sign forwards Mark Easter and Kris Chesney". BBC News. 8 March 2011.
  17. ^ "London Irish sign Saints and Scotland centre Joe Ansbro". BBC News. 3 February 2011.
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