Waller: That’s the kind of spirit we want to see

It was Saints’ largest-ever European victory and just seven points short of the most ever scored in a single game by a Northampton team.

Waller returned to the starting XV to lead the side out at Franklin’s Gardens, and was thrilled with how Saints stuck to their task in a chaotic clash.

“It was a first for me,” he said. “I have never been involved in a match like that in my professional career.

“The boys executed the game really well; there was an opportunity for it to become pretty loose and a bit like a 7s match, but we implemented our game plan really well.

“Obviously every professional rugby player has been on the end of a tough loss at some point during their career, so we know how Timisoara must have felt after the game.

“We can’t really think about them too much. I’m happy with how the boys performed and that was just the score that reflected the game.

“It’s brilliant to be in to the quarter-finals, it’s where we want to be, but it’s a long old season this and we’ve still got a long way to go.”

Watch highlights of Saints vs Timisoara Saracens by CLICKING HERE.

Saints will be hoping to carry some momentum into this weekend’s derby clash against Leicester Tigers in the final pool stage match of the Premiership Rugby Cup.

Many Northampton supporters will have been licking their lips watching their side’s scintillating attacking play on Friday, but Waller admits that the defensive effort put in by Saints was just as promising.

He added: “At half-time against Timisoara we spoke about not conceding any tries and to use it as a bit of a defensive exercise as well.

“Credit to the boys for showing a bit of spirit when we hit 90 points. It could have been very easy to just concede a try at the end when they were putting the pressure on, but we dug in and that’s the kind of spirit we want to see.”