Northampton Saints coach James Craig said that the men in Black, Green and Gold will look to build on their dramatic last-minute victory over Saracens as they head into a PREM Rugby Cup semi-final away at Exeter Chiefs.
A clutch conversion from James Pater in the final seconds of the game secured Saints a 35-33 victory in their concluding PREM Rugby Cup pool round fixture, as well as securing a third place seeding heading into a semi-final at Sandy Park on Sunday.
“It was brilliant that we saw that game out,” Craig said at full-time. “We had two young halfbacks, Jonny Weimann and James Pater, steering things at the end there. I thought those guys managed it really well.
“There’s going to be some tough lessons in there and a lot of things we can do to improve.
“The important thing is that we do that, even though we won, it’s important we don’t fall into a false sense of security and roll week to week. The lads make it happen from the intensity brought in during the training week.”
Heading into the clash, Saints made nine changes to the starting XV, which saw 17-year-old back row Jack Lewis earn his first start in a Saints shirt, as well as George Furbank returning from England camp and starting at fullback, topping off the performance with a first-half try.
A try from James Ramm as well as Furbank’s score left the game at two tries apiece at the halftime break, however, Saints made hard work of the second half as Saracens raced into a 21-33 lead. But it was two stellar George Hendy finishes and the final Pater conversion that sealed another victory for Saints in the competition.
“Jack is a tough lad; he’s been excellent since the first minute he stepped into this senior environment from the academy,” Craig added on the 17-year-old.
“He brings a level of physicality in training, and the way he applies himself in games is excellent. He learns fast, and if he keeps doing that, he’ll have a bright future ahead.
“George was class, some of the touches he had on the ball were brilliant, setting up the try. He has that international quality, and when he gets a decent run of games, he is a world-class player. It was excellent to see him out there, and I’m sure England will be delighted to see him prove his fitness.”
Saints now enter a semi-final in the PREM Rugby Cup this weekend, a feat they have not achieved since 2023, and make the long trip down the South West for the fixture as they take on last year’s competition finalists and the 2022-23 champions, Exeter Chiefs.
“Exeter have a lot of pedigree in this competition,” Craig continued.
“We want to go away to these tough places, and that’s something we’ve been good at and really improved upon this year and taking that challenge on will be brilliant.
“We’ve had some of those selection decisions for the weekend already. There’s definitely a group of players who we want to get back involved, but we have to balance that with doing right by those boys who have proven themselves in this competition as well.”