Whatever happens against Leinster on Saturday, Northampton’s back division – many of whom now form the heart of England’s three-quarter line – will hold their annual awards evening next week. Forwards aren’t invited.
‘It’s run by Tommy Freeman and Tom Seabrook. They’re our Ant and Dec for the evening,’ Mail Sport is told by Saints head coach Sam Vesty, the man who heads up the team’s impressive attack.
‘I’ve told them they can do whatever they want and the awards are over to them. All I know so far is it’s black tie! We’re doing it at a snooker and darts club. It’ll be good fun. We do try and enjoy each other’s company. I think that’s very helpful.’
At Franklin’s Gardens, the emphasis of director of rugby Phil Dowson and his right-hand man Vesty is on balancing the demands and pressures that come with professional sport with a fun, relaxed environment.
The approach has paid off. Last season, Northampton won the Gallagher Premiership and only lost to Leinster in the Champions Cup’s last four.
This term, Saints’ league campaign hasn’t hit the same heights. But as they travel to Dublin again to take on Leinster, they are once more just one game away from a European final.
Tommy Freeman is one half of the ‘Ant and Dec’ pairing who host Northampton’s backs-only awards evening — a black-tie event at snooker and darts club that promises to be raucous
Tom Seabrook hosts alongside Freeman, in an annual tradition for the Saints flyers
Head coach Sam Vesty is a cricket fan and wants Saints to ‘go swinging from ball one’
Their Irish opponents might be more than daunting. But Northampton have no fear. Vesty is a keen cricket fan and his analogy for his team’s approach leans on that.
‘Our mindset is to go swinging from ball one, go after them and not let them settle,’ he says. ‘Leinster have the ability to get on top and be very good, so you’ve got to go out swinging.’
Like England’s cricketers under Brendon McCullum, Northampton’s rugby stars are entertaining to watch. In backs Alex Mitchell, Fin Smith, Fraser Dingwall, Freeman, George Furbank and Ollie Sleightholme, they have players who are all England regulars. George Hendy is an England A international.
Hendy, Furbank and Sleightholme are all injured for the Leinster game. It’s a blow. But in Mitchell, Smith and Freeman, Saints have wonderful talent.
All three are likely Lions in Australia this summer. ‘I’m so proud to see those guys play for England,’ Vesty says. ‘The bit I’m most proud of is I think they can run it themselves now. If I didn’t turn up, it would be fine. They would just get on with it.
‘My philosophy is to create highly skilled, competent decision-makers. There’s a big element of that on the pitch, but also a big element off it. Our backs meetings will include little games that involve problem-solving, presenting to the group and enjoying each other’s company.
‘Currently, we’re playing games. This week we’ve started one which was basically a game of Pictionary. It’s different every week.
‘One week, we learned about Ollie’s passion, which is fishing. One of the other lads, whose name I won’t mention, had a passion for how to murder someone and get away with it. It’s taken us to some bizarre places! But fundamentally, it’s about enjoying yourself and getting connected off the pitch to then be connected on it.’
Leinster came out on top when these sides met in the semi-final last season
Northampton pushed the Irish side hard but came up just short, losing 20-17
Saints fancy their chances this time as they take their short at revenge in Dublin
Vesty’s work has gone so well that not only are Northampton’s backs in sync on the pitch, England head coach Steve Borthwick has made them the fulcrum of his team too.
Mitchell and Smith are now first-choice half-backs and Freeman is a certain starter. The Aviva Stadium clash with Leinster is a last chance to lay down a Lions marker ahead of Andy Farrell naming his squad on May 8.
Leinster are Ireland in all but name, their raft of home-grown internationals supplemented by global stars Jordie Barrett and RG Snyman.
Smith’s No 10 head-to-head with fellow 22-year-old Sam Prendergast is a mouthwatering battle and one which could amount to a straight Lions shootout.
Breakthrough England star Henry Pollock will also be looking to impress against the likes of Josh van der Flier and Caelan Doris.
‘I’m fully aware this is a big game under the microscope which is probably the last chance I’ve got to put my best foot forward before Lions selection,’ Smith says. ‘It won’t hopefully change too much in terms of what I’m trying to do but I definitely want to go out there and play well with that (Lions) being one of many incentives.
‘I’ve got huge respect and admiration for him (Prendergast). The way he’s carried himself in such a calm manner and been incredibly unfazed has been impressive. He’s got a real box of tricks with the variety of his kicking and some of his late passing at the line.
‘We’re going out there to try and win and part of that will be trying to throw him off his game. He’ll be doing the same.
Fin Smith’s battle with Sam Prendergast could go a long way to deciding the Lions No 10 debate
Smith has made himself England’s starting fly-half, a whirlwind rise in the last 12 months
Smith and England’s breakthrough hero Henry Pollock (right) will look to take down Leinster
‘Last year, we were on a real good run of form and people were speaking about whether or not Northampton could do the double. This year there is zero pressure whatsoever, which we love as a group. We firmly believe on our day we can go and beat anyone.’
In last season’s semi between the two sides, Northampton fell just three points short, ultimately paying the price for a poor start. This time around, Vesty and Smith need to somehow find a way round Leinster’s tenacious defence led by their double World Cup-winning coach Jacques Nienaber.
‘What we really want to be conscious of is attacking the blitz,’ Vesty says. ‘We don’t want to sit back and be fluffy. We have to be dominant and create fast ball. What we really don’t want to be doing is playing sideways, lateral and passive.
‘If you do that, you’re going to walk into a wall of f***ing heat. Last year, we played the occasion not the game. We’ve got players who have played in big games now. I think that shock factor won’t be a problem now.’
Northampton’s captain’s run session on Friday will see Vesty lead a routine which sees every player having 150 touches of a ball on the Aviva Stadium pitch. And it can be any ball, not necessarily a rugby one. Before last season’s Croke Park match with Leinster, the Saints played Gaelic football and hurling in a nod to the venue.
‘Understanding it is one thing. Managing to find a way round it is another,’ Smith says of Leinster’s defensive wall of blue. ‘They obviously come really hard off the line so we’ll have to play a bit deeper than we might usually and probably be a bit less predictable. It’s a real challenge. There’s going to have to be some problem solving on the fly.’
Smith had yet to play for England this time 12 months ago but has now become Borthwick’s primary playmaker.
‘I’m not going to lie I was fairly nervous,’ he said of the last time he played Leinster. ‘You could see that by the way we started the game. I think the whole group was probably nervous and felt the pressure a little bit. It was the biggest game I’d played at the time. Now I’d like to think I’ve had more of a taste of that.’
All Black superstar Jordie Barrett supplements a Leinster side that is basically the Ireland team
Leo Cullen’s Leinster team of superstars, including man mountain Springbok RG Snyman, are undoubtedly favourites, especially after their hammerings of Harlequins and Glasgow
But don’t back against Northampton causing an upset. They certainly won’t die wondering
Leo Cullen’s Leinster team of superstars are undoubtedly favourites, especially after their hammerings of Harlequins and Glasgow. But don’t back against Northampton causing an upset. They certainly won’t die wondering.
‘I think the game’s got to go towards the way of attack because ultimately we want a really good product,’ Vesty says. ‘Now, I don’t think 50-50 is always a great product.
‘Not by any stretch of the imagination. A close tussle can absolutely have benefits and a really strong defence can be very good too. But in rugby, we want as many bums on seats as possible and to expose ourselves to as wide an audience as possible so that we are a viable sport. To do that, we need a product that’s great to watch.
‘People like seeing tries and players running in space.’
