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Dickens keen to build on first 60 at Saracens

Travis PerkinsSponsored by Travis Perkins

Defence coach Alan Dickens has said that Saints must build on their first 60 minutes at Saracens in the coming weeks as they return to Franklin’s Gardens to face Wasps on Saturday.

After a frustrating 27-12 loss to Saracens last weekend, Saints return home for back-to-back fixtures starting with their East Midlands rivals on Saturday. The men in black, green and gold were on the money with keeping the double Champions at bay in the first half but a pivotal yellow card gave Saracens a gap to exploit and the current top-of-the-table side did so clinically to keep their sheet clean.

“Getting in another strong defensive performance was something we talked about straight after the game,” Alan Dickens told SaintsTV yesterday.

“That’s the benchmark we want to set; there were a lot of positives and though we were disappointed we didn’t get the result last weekend, we’ve said that first 60 minutes is the benchmark in terms of physicality when we’re carrying the ball and physicality when we’re defending. There were a lot of positives to take from that game and that’s something we look to build on in the next few weeks, starting with Wasps."

This week’s visitors are currently unbeaten after having secured two victories at the Ricoh Arena, Wasps defeating both Exeter and Bristol on home soil, as well as getting their first win at Welford Road since 2008 after beating Leicester Tigers 34-22.

“We know their threats. They had a lot of threats last year in the back line and we’ve talked a lot about that this week.

“They pose a different threat to which was posed from Saracens. We’ve talked about what we’ll do and hopefully we’ll put that in place on Saturday.

“We’re really looking forward to it. Franklin's Gardens is full every week and the supporters are always behind us. It’s a great place to be and we’re lucky to have it as a home venue.”


Tickets for the Saints' home Aviva Premiership clashes with Wasps and Exeter are now on general sale to all supporters. Make sure your voice counts by booking your place at Franklin's Gardens! Head to www.northamptonsaints.co.uk/buytickets and use Print@Home to beat the match day queues and save the admin fees.

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