Ramm ‘feeling good’ after brace in Saints’ win at Saracens

James Ramm returned to action for Northampton Saints in some style on Friday night as he claimed a brace of scores in the side’s 34-49 victory over Saracens.

The game kicked off Saints’ competitive season and their PREM Rugby Cup campaign – as the men in Black, Green and Gold entered the competition in Round 2 – and saw Northampton score seven tries at the StoneX Stadium.

Ramm, 27, also made his return to the field after recovering from an injury sustained in Saints’ Investec Champions Cup Final defeat at the close of last term.

After an early run out in Northampton’s preseason visit to Glasgow Warriors, the winger was delighted to get back into competitive action and feature for a full 80 minutes.

“I’m feeling really good,” Ramm said on his return to a Northampton shirt. “I did have a fair while off over the summer in a boot, and I feel really refreshed coming back.

“We’ve had a big couple of weeks in the gym, and I feel really good. I’m probably speaking on behalf of all the boys when I say we’re ready to go.”

Saints’ attentions now quickly turn to the start of the Gallagher PREM, as the league campaign gets underway this weekend – with the men in Black, Green and Gold set to face Exeter Chiefs first up.

Northampton finished eighth in last season’s competition, just one place ahead of Chiefs; and with this clash between the two sides last term decided by just six points, Ramm knows it will be a stern test of how far Saints’ early season preparations have got them.

“First round, everyone’s going to be flying into it, everyone’s got a point to prove,” Ramm said.

“We’ve relied heavily on our home form in the past couple of years and we love playing at home. We can’t wait to get back in front of the fans at cinch Stadium at Franklin’s Gardens and get going again.

“But we do want to fix up our away form and we can take good things from the game last Friday. We’ve had a big focus on the away form this preseason. We’ve had weeks away, travelled up to Glasgow and made sure we’re put out of our comfort zone to make sure we’re ready when we have those long travel days.”

Ramm was among four Northampton players to cross the whitewash at the StoneX Stadium, with debutants Callum Chick and JJ Van Der Mescht both scoring in their first outings as Saints, while hooker Craig Wright added his third try in Black, Green and Gold.

Saracens kept themselves in the fight with five tries of their own, but it was ultimately the Australian winger’s scores that sealed the victory for Northampton. And for Ramm the clash proved to be a good work out for Saints as they wrapped up their preparations for the new PREM season.

“It was exactly what we wanted,” Ramm added. “It was a really good hit-out, really physical out there, which is what we were going after, and we’re really happy.

“You want to test everything and find out which part of your game is breaking down so you can put it right, and that was the perfect game for that.

“There’s no substitute for game fitness. You could run for a year, get to the first game and still be blowing. We blew the cobwebs away and we’ve had a couple of games now so we’re starting to get into our stride and we’re looking forward to getting into the next game.”

Saints’ first home match of the season is now closing in on a sell-out, with very limited groups of tickets remaining. Don’t miss out on the league Curtain Raiser – with tickets available from £25* adult / £9* child HERE now.