Heading into the final away game of the league season and round 21 of this season’s Aviva Premiership, Saints travel to Exeter Chiefs hoping to keep their hopes of European Champions Cup rugby and a top six finish alive.
Alex Waller says that Saints’ performances over the last few weeks as they have faced three of the current top four, and head into this weekend to face another, have been good but the side need to focus on closing games out.
“I think there have been some really good performances,” Waller commented.
“But we just haven’t quite finished the game or played for the full 80. We’ve spoken about how seeing out a game is something that we need to work on and hopefully we can put that right in these last couple of weeks.
“We’ve played some good rugby against Wasps and some good rugby down in MK against Saracens and it was just a shame to see us lose it in the last quarter or in the case of Wasps the last play of the game.
Looking ahead to Exeter, Waller said that the challenge of a strong side is something both he and the team are relishing.
“I like it in Exeter. Sandy Park is a good place to play with a good atmosphere, great crowd. It’s a little bit windy at times but we’re looking forward to it. It’ll be a big challenge for us.
“They’ve got a decent pack and they’re a good outfit down there. We’ve not been doing anything massively different I analysis because they’re exactly that a good, big pack but we’ve played against good, big packs before.
“So hopefully we can put in a decent performance and give a platform for the backs to play off.
“It’s been frustrating recently and it’s been hard on the boys. I’m sure its been very hard on the fans as well and we do appreciate all the support and sticking with us.
“But we’re working as hard as we can and hopefully we can finish this season on a high.”
