Northampton Saints’ Academy can measure its success by the long list of players it has produced for the club and England, most notably World Cup winning duo Steve Thompson and Ben Cohen.

In the 2007/08 Saints squad alone there are 12 players who have come through the academy system.

There are several tiers to the Saints academy system and over 100 young players aged between 13 and 20 receive coaching from the club, ranging from the bi-weekly Elite Player Development Groups, based in Northampton and Bury St Edmunds, to the full-time Senior Academy who train full-time at Franklin's Gardens.

Joe Gray packs down with Simon Emms and Terry Sigley against London Welsh

In between there age groups at every year with the focus being on developing the indivdual, both on and off the field. Players are also given regular game time in the under-16, under-19 and Wanderers sides. Already in 2007/08 several schoolboys have played Wanderers rugby. The club believes that exposing players to a higher standard of rugby can only be beneficial to the individual himself as well as to the club.

Two members of the Senior Academy, Will Harries and Joe Gray, have already played for the Saints this season and several more played in the pre-season friendly against Samoa. There are 10 members of the Saints Senior Academy, a senior group of rugby players that train full-time alongside the professional squad and therefore benefit from the experience of the older players and the world class skills of the Saints coaching team.

Grant Anderson in action for the Saints against Samoa

Joe Gray and Courtney Lawes have been selected in the England U20 squad for the coming season, following in the footsteps of Phil Hoy and David Smith. Smith, together with John Brake, also represented England in the IRB World Sevens Series.

For the most part, they play in separate league - the Guinness 'A' League - and a number of other friendly fixtures. They also receive specific training from Academy manager Rob Hunter and Academy coaches Ali Hepher and Grant Seely to help nurture them towards becoming Saints players.

In 2006/07 the Saints Academy was undefeated at all age groups, including home and away matches against Leicester at U19. The 2007/08 fixture list is comprehensive and with the club's continuing involvement in the Guinness 'A' League the next generation of Saints players will continue to be exposed to the highest standards of rugby.

The Saints Academy is supported by the Chris Kokta Memorial Trust, Farmhouse Meats Ltd, Moulton College and the Crooked Hooker.