Former Northampton Saints fans’ favourite Sam Matavesi is eagerly anticipating a second playing return in as many years to cinch Stadium at Franklin’s Gardens this weekend, nearly two years after leaving the Club as a Gallagher PREM champion.
Just a couple of weeks after his 89th and final appearance in a Black, Green and Gold shirt came at Twickenham Stadium – when he became the first serving military (Royal Navy) rugby player to lift the PREM trophy – the hooker’s move to Lyon was confirmed with immediate effect that summer.
After starting last year’s Senior Men’s Inter Service Rugby Championship for the Navy in their defeat to the RAF, the 34-year-old is set to run out at his former home once more this Saturday (18 April) in the 2026 edition of the fixture at cinch Stadium (kick-off: 4.15pm).
Tickets for the clash are still available HERE, priced from £19* adult, £13* adult military, and £5* junior (aged 11-18).
“I love Northampton,” he said. “As much as Cornwall is home, Northampton was and is a massive part of my life. I still support Northampton now. They are my team. I think in the league it is the best ground, best pitch.
“I have only been back to the ground a couple of times since I left. It’s so hard – I would love to come up and bring my family, sit in the stands, watch a game and see some old faces.
“But we play at the same time, so it’s difficult. And unfortunately, it is five hours from Cornwall, so I cannot just get in the car and it’s around the corner.”
After one season in the Top 14, Matavesi turned down offers to remain in professional club rugby to join National League 2 North side Camborne RFC – and has scored eight tries in 22 appearances this season to propel the side to within one point of the title with two games remaining.
Stepping down to part-time rugby has afforded him more time to focus on his naval career, which currently sees him based at HMS Raleigh in Cornwall, where he operates as a Leading Hand, playing a key role in developing new recruits during their ten-week initial training.
“I had some opportunities to go elsewhere for a year, but I needed to put my family and the kids first – and work!” Matavesi explained. “I have been lucky enough to play for Saints for nearly five seasons and then Lyon. It is a long time away from work and home.
“This week we had a whole new class from week one, day one, then you see them pass out in ten weeks. I really enjoy it, and then I mix that in with rugby training in the evenings with Camborne.”
It is now the demands of his growing Navy career, rather than club rugby, that provide the obstacles for Matavesi to regularly link up with the Navy’s rugby team.
But the 38‑cap international, who represented Fiji at both the 2019 and 2023 Rugby World Cups, is fully back in the mix ahead of Saturday’s Senior Men’s match against the RAF – which follows the Senior Women’s fixture that kicks off at 1.30pm.
“Our prep has been good. We played a strong, young Exeter Chiefs team last week – that was our last hit-out,” he said. “We’ve had a big week this week. I think it will be an even game; I don’t think there will be much in it, which will be good for the spectators coming to cinch Stadium.
“From when I first started playing for the Navy, probably five people played weekend rugby, whereas now everyone plays to a good level.
“The RAF have Josh McNally, who was at Bath and is now at Cardiff, and they have the Leicester Tigers winger Ryan Crowley. It is always a tough game. The RAF have recently changed their coaching staff, and so have we. Hopefully it is an attacking game for the spectators.”