Bath opener an ‘awesome test’ for Saints, says James

Scrum-half Tom James insisted Northampton Saints are full of confidence heading into their Gallagher Premiership 2024/25 season opener against Bath.

The men in Black, Green and Gold start the defence of their title on Friday evening against the side they pipped to the trophy at Twickenham Stadium back in June.

James featured in the preseason games against Leinster and Bedford Blues at cinch Stadium at Franklin’s Gardens and is eagerly anticipating the Round 1 contest at The Rec.

“It is an awesome test and it will show us where we are,” said the 30-year-old. “It’s a repeat of the final, we’ve been gearing up to it and have had our sights set on it for quite a while now. We’re really looking forward to it.

“You have to reset and realise it’s a new season, but we’re still very much focused on us.

James joined Saints from Championship outfit Doncaster Knights in 2020 and has gone on to make 80 appearances, scoring 16 tries along the way.

He enters season six at the Gardens as one of the most senior members of the squad, having played a key role in the title-winning season making 23 appearances – including as a replacement in the final.

Despite his achievements since making the step up from tier two of English ruby, there’s still plenty left on the Sherborne native’s to do list. 

“Coming in from the Championship, it is quite a tough thing to do,” he said. “There’s not many players who manage to do it and have some longevity to it too.

“Sometimes you’ve got stand back and have a bit of perspective and say I am proud to still be here and play as many games as we have. The job is not finished, I still have a few goals I have not quite achieved yet.”

Once more, James will be competing with Alex Mitchell for the pivotal nine jersey, with pressure also being applied from England Under-20s star Archie McParland as well other up-and-coming talents within the set-up.

James said: “It is always good to have competition. It is something that Saints have always done really well with the nine position, there’s always been a bit of a fight for the shirt. I feel like we have got a good group at the moment with myself, Mitch, Archie, you’ve got Jonny [Weimann] and Jake [Garside] in there as well. There is a lot of competition.”