Dorian West to leave Northampton Saints

Northampton Saints can confirm that forwards coach Dorian West will be leaving the Club by mutual consent at the end of the 2017/18 season.

The 50-year-old originally joined the set-up at Franklin’s Gardens in 2007, and alongside Jim Mallinder helped guide the Club back into the top flight of English rugby and on to a series of trophies and titles – including claiming the Aviva Premiership crown in 2014.

West is one of the longest-serving coaches in the Aviva Premiership, but due to this season’s results the Saints board agreed that a change was in the best interest of the club.

“I would like to thank Dorian for everything he has done for Northampton Saints,” said chief executive Mark Darbon.

“We have been very lucky to have him at Franklin’s Gardens and he will always be a part of the Saints family.

“Dorian is a superb professional and is now firmly focused on helping the squad to finish the current season as strongly as possible.”

John White, Northampton Saints chairman, added: “Under Dorian’s guidance, the Club possessed the most ferocious pack in English rugby and his role in our triumphs over the last decade should not be underestimated.

“Dorian leaves with our very best wishes and thanks for everything he has contributed to Saints.”

Affectionately known around the Club as ‘Nobby’, West was part of the coaching set-up that clinched trophies for three seasons running at the start of his Franklin’s Gardens tenure.

Saints bounced straight back into the Aviva Premiership at the first time of asking in 2008, winning a National League One and National Trophy double en route, before securing the European Challenge Cup and the LV= Cup in the seasons that followed.

The 2011 season will live long in Saints supporters’ memories as Northampton came within a whisker of claiming the Heineken Cup, mounting a run all the way to the final in Cardiff.

But West’s greatest coaching achievement would come the following season, with Saints lifting the Aviva Premiership trophy for the first time in 2014, having fallen just short in the final the previous year.

“I’ve created some fantastic memories at Franklin’s Gardens, and I want to thank Jim Mallinder and all the staff for their support and friendship in my time here,” said West.

“I’m very proud of what I’ve achieved at Saints; we turned a side that had just been relegated from the Premiership into one of the very best teams in Europe.

“When you look back on your career as a player or a coach, you remember the trophies you won rather than the games you lost, and I’m happy we were able to win so many finals for the people of Northampton over the last decade.

“But all good things must come to an end and after Jim left the club earlier in the season I have gradually come to the decision that it’s time for a new challenge away from Franklin’s Gardens.

“I wish the playing squad all the best for the future, and for now I hope we can end this season on a high note.”