Head Coach Charlie Reed has urged his Northampton Saints U18 to ‘back up’ their much-improved performance against Bath when they conclude their regular season Next Gen Prem Rugby league campaign this weekend.
The young Saints head to Shelford RFC on Saturday (kick-off: 2pm) to take on a Bristol Bears side still in the hunt for second spot and with it a shot at succeeding Saints as league champions when Finals Day is held on Sunday, 22 February at Kingsholm Stadium, Gloucester.
A return of three wins from seven outings so far means Saints will miss out on the big final for the first time in five years, but a spirited 24-33 loss to table-topping Bath last time out was a positive step in the right direction for Reed and his injury-hit squad.
“I think this weekend it is about the ability to back it up,” said Reed. “We said we want to spend out weekends and our weekdays reviewing ourselves, reviewing how we train, and how we play. That is exactly what we have done this week. Can we go and do it again?
“I want us to continue to be us and get good performances from doing that. It is another good challenge, another good side coming to us, but we are looking to put in a similar performance and get a result.”
Saints went into last weekend’s penultimate round having conceded 64 points in a difficult loss to Harlequins in Round 7 – but rolled up their sleeves to give Bath a run for their money.
“It finally landed how we wanted to play the game,” reflected Reed. “There was frustration off the back of some previous performances, up against what we knew was a very strong and physical Bath side.
“It meant that we need to be in the right place to play our game. I think we definitely got that. I think seeing some of the younger lads have a run out and put in some really good performances was really great to see as well. The likes of Seb Dare, an U17 who is back from injury, Kai Manson coming onto the pitch after a minute and putting in a good performance as well, backed up with some rgood physicality from the likes of Rafferty Hewitt. There was a lot of stand-out performances, we didn’t get the result we wanted but we definitely played how we wanted to.”
Saints can finish no higher than their current position of sixth, but with three of the teams below them within striking distance entering Round 9 – there’s plenty for Reed’s side to play for as they seek a showdown with Exeter Chiefs for the 5th/6th place play-off on Finals Day.
“We will have a big review after the Finals Day,” added Reed. “I always want this programme to get better, I never want it to stand still. It is going to be an ever-evolving process, but I think there are some things we can definitely look at to be better, and we will definitely look at those things.”