In the last round of matches the 10,099 crowd that saw the Saints’ fifth successive bonus point win was beaten only by the attendances at Gloucester and Bath. Indeed the figure announced at the Recreation Ground was only six higher than that at Northampton.

Attendances at London Wasps, Newcastle Falcons, Bristol and Leeds were all markedly lower than the Saints, despite England’s World Cup game against Tonga being played on Friday evening.

With capacity crowds across the country being the hallmark of the Saints’ NL1 campaign, director of rugby Jim Mallinder has praised the commitment of the club’s supporters.

“It is always fantastic to see the sea of black, green and gold in the stands,” he said. “The support the team gets always gives all the players a real boost. Over the next few weeks this will be needed even more.

“With enough travelling supporters we can make Sedgley Park feel like a home game this Saturday. And then to see a full Franklin’s Gardens against Doncaster a week later for a crunch match at the top of the table would be superb.”

Doncaster Knights currently sit in second place in National League One only a solitary point behind the Saints. With a home game against basement club Pertemps Bees there is every likelihood that the Knights will come to Franklin’s Gardens on Saturday, October 13th as an undefeated side.

Tickets for this game are available now from the Saints Ticket Office priced from just £12. Book yours by calling 01604 581000 or by clicking here.
*      *      * 
If you belong to a local rugby club, school or community group, this match provides the perfect opportunity to earn your organisation money through the Saints CashBack scheme.

Already over 2,500 tickets have been sold through CashBack this season, continuing the success of the past seven years into 2007/08.

CashBack is simple – organisations (rugby clubs, community groups etc) order tickets from the Saints Community Department for home fixtures and then sell them on to their members. For every ticket sold over and above 20, the group qualifies for CashBack, receiving £5 back directly into their bank account. For example, if an organisation sells 20 tickets, they will receive £100 back.

In addition, groups can earn Reward points for their qualifying CashBack sales which can be redeemed during the season. Rewards include signed shirts, signed balls, hospitality to home games and other goodies.

For more information about the scheme contact Hannah Mackrill in the Community Department on 01604 599116.
*      *       *
Northampton Saints is giving local companies the opportunity to sample the unique Franklin’s Gardens match-day experience at a reduced rate while enjoying the benefit of external advertising and public relations as well as facilitating unity amongst their staff.

“Over the past few years we have been unable to offer local companies the opportunity to sample the unique match-day atmosphere of Franklin’s Gardens,” said Saints marketing manager Brian Facer. “This is simply because the stadium has been sold out for both match-day tickets and corporate hospitality.

“In 2007/08 we can reconnect with local businesses, many of whom have expressed an interest in making use of the world-class facilities and match-day experience to enhance their own team.”

Each match a limited number of places have been allocated for one company to purchase a match-day group sponsorship package. There are three packages available. Call 01604 599131 for more information.