Jake Sharp has credited the young Northampton Saints side that put an experienced Leicester Tigers outfit to the sword on Saturday, as they claimed an impressive 40-22 victory over their Midlands rivals.
The result saw Saints notch their third win in the PREM Rugby Cup so far this term and move up to third in Pool B after six rounds, with clashes against Harlequins, Newcastle Red Bulls and Saracens still to come in the pool stages.
The men in Black, Green and Gold put all questions of experience aside quickly at cinch Stadium at Franklin’s Gardens, sending scrum-half Archie McParland over after just ten minutes.
And Saints’ young side – whose average age was just 21 across the starting XV – kept the pressure on Tigers, claiming the season’s fastest try bonus point as they sent McParland over for his second, before James Martin and Amena Caqusau crossed to see them lead 28-5 after just 31 minutes.
That lead stretched to 40-5 less than ten minutes after half-time, when hooker Henry Walker and fly-half James Pater both got across the whitewash; and while Tigers added three more scores of their own before the full-time whistle, Northampton had already done more than enough to claim the win.
“It’s testament to this young group and it’s an exciting next few weeks ahead in this competition,” said Sharp, who took over the coaching reins for Northampton this week.
“That’s the exciting bit as a coach. This group might be younger, but they graft for each other, they defend hard, go hard at the breakdown, show excellence in the set piece, just like the older players. We saw some quality shine through from some of those young lads, which was excellent.
“We’re fortunate that the Saints DNA is valued the whole way through the Club. These lads get to train alongside the kind of players who are involved in international set-ups and learn to play how they do.
“Then it doesn't matter who wears the shirt, the expectation is the same, and for them to deliver like they did against Tigers was excellent. Hopefully, we’ll see a lot more of that in the future.”
There were impressive performances across the park for Northampton, with captain on the afternoon Sam Graham claiming the Player of the Match title and scrum-half McParland catching the eye with his speed at the breakdown and nose for a gap that earned him his brace of scores.
But for Sharp it was 18-year-old Pater who deserved his praise. The fullback-turned-fly-half, who wore the No. 10 shirt for the first time in his senior career on Saturday, made some 48 metres from 14 carries and scored 15 of Saints’ points, ten of which were from the tee.
Of the impressive young back, Sharp said: “How good for an 18-year-old who was making what was his first start at 10.
“He kicked for goal beautifully, he wants to take the ball to the line and make decisions, and you saw the calmness in his performance.
“Performances like that put pressure on Fin Smith and Anthony Belleau to keep performing which is great for development all round. It’s amazing to see a young lad stepping up and is exactly what we want to get out of this competition.”