Jake Sharp lauded the PREM Rugby Cup for the development opportunities it offers the young players in Northampton Saints’ squad, after taking on the Head Coach role for the men in Black, Green and Gold’s 26-17 victory over Harlequins in Round 3.
A debut score from winger Tom Rowe and a first senior try for 18-year-old fullback James Pater were just two of Saints’ efforts against Quins; with two more tries from their back row (one from Fyn Brown and one from skipper Sam Graham) added to Northampton’s tally to maintain their unbeaten run in the competition.
And Sharp – who usually oversees the Club’s Senior Academy transition group, as well as Northampton’s place kicking – was delighted to see a youthful Saints side knuckle down in what proved to be a stop-start encounter at cinch Stadium at Franklin’s Gardens.
“I think you saw two teams with a mix of young and older players go at it. The game very much ebbed and flowed,” said Sharp.
“We obviously started off pretty well, and then that middle 40 minutes was a bit slow for lots of reasons, but it was a great hit out and another success for us in the PRC.
“That’s something we’ve definitely spoken about this week and that will be the theme leading through the PRC block.
“The pleasing thing was that we had good intent to play, we were physical, and this group will just keep building now into the next two games and on into February as well.”
Saints’ squad had an average age of just 22.8 across the starting XV – but that proved no obstacle for them against Quins, with the young group showing both their attacking flair and defensive strength over the 80 minutes.
And, for Sharp, the possibility of watching the stars of Saints’ future develop on the field throughout the Cup period is an exciting one.
“It’s awesome, it’s awesome,” Sharp said when asked what it’s like to coach such a youthful group.
“You had five debuts against Quins, two lads come in who’ve been playing at Loughborough University on Wednesdays in the BUCS league. Lots of those lads have been out slogging away at their loan clubs for the past couple of months, at Bedford or Cambridge or Leicester Lions, so that was a great opportunity for them.
“Toby Thame was excellent; we saw him a bit a couple of years ago and he’s been off at uni, he had a big injury, but he’s come back in and looked excellent. Henry Lumley, at 18, has been excellent. James Pater looked class in a lot of his work. Sonny Tonga’uiha coming on and dominating the scrums, how exciting is that to see?
“You see our lads doing really well on the England stage just before we kicked off and you hope that this next group translate into that same level of success over the next four or five years.
“Hopefully, there’s five or six of lads that you’ll see in the PRC who will play in the PREM more than you’d expect this year because they’ve set the foundations and worked hard in the Cup.”
While the group shifts when Saints enter the Cup periods of the season – with the side currently without ten of their senior players across the England, Scotland and Italy squads for the Quilter Nations Series – Sharp insists that the way Northampton train and aim to play remains just the same as during a league window.
“We’re striving to be keep that Saints energy in this group,” said Sharp. “You saw a team against Quins that train in the way the first-team want to play every week. As a Saints group we pride ourselves on developing everyone and getting better and better every day as a squad. It’s a very Sam Vesty ethos that runs through the whole Club.
“The big focus for us with that is making sure someone like Toby Thame can step in for Fraser Dingwall and Rory Hutchinson and be in a great space.
“You only have to look at the success that our slightly older young lads have had playing for England – they’re only 22, 23, 24.
“Whatever we’re doing with development I think we’re doing it right. That’s a credit to the environment that Chris Boyd and Phil Dowson have created over last the seven, eight years and long may that continue.
“Look at someone like Ed Prowse; he has played in this competition for a couple of years now and he played in the European Final last season.
“Who knows who the next guy to come through will be but hopefully lots more players will get the chance to step up and play for Saints.”