Northampton Saints (officially Northampton Rugby Football Club) are a professional rugby union club from Northampton, England. They play in Premiership Rugby, England's top division of rugby union.
They were formed in 1880 as "Northampton St. James", which gave them the nickname Saints from the 1880s. The team play their home games at the 15,249 capacity Franklin's Gardens, in the St. James area in the west of the town. Since the early 1900s, the team has played in black, green and gold colours.
The club was established in 1880 under the original title of Northampton St. James by Rev Samuel Wathen Wigg, a local clergyman and curate of St. James Church who was a resident of the nearby village of Milton Malsor in the house known as "Mortimers".[7] This is how the club got its two nicknames of "The Saints" or "Jimmies". Wigg Himself had played for around 18 months between 1878 and 1880, and rugby football had already been played on an informal basis in the town and the county for around 17 years at this point.[8] His original concept was to promote "order" to his younger parish members by creating an "improvement class" for troubled local boys.[9]
The first "official" game played is considered to be against a local team, called the Star, from Bailiff Street, just off the Northampton Racecourse.[10] The early days saw games against teams from Northampton such as All Saints, St Michael's, Scorpions, Northampton Rugby Club, the Wanderers, and, in contrast to Saints' working-class roots, the exclusive, predominantly upper-class Northampton Unity Football Club, who later offered to merge with Saints (though this was refused by the St James governing board).[11]
"Play the game as a sportsman should, remember that life is but a span, it's up to us to be cheerful and good, and make life as bright as we can"
Rev. Samuel Wathen Wigg,speech given to the club in 1927[12]
It was not long before Northampton had one of the major rugby union teams in the country, by the 1896–97 season they only conceded 93 points and kept their opposition scoreless for 17 of the 22 games played that season.[13] Twenty years after its establishment, the first Saints player, local farmer Harry Weston, was awarded an Englandcap.[14] The club was also drawing crowds of around 10,000 for major games, especially those against Leicester by this point.[15]
Relationships with other clubs in town
A minor disagreement occurred in 1897 as Saints looked to drop the "St. James" part of their name to become "Northampton Football Club", as the recently formed association football club Northampton Town FC also wished to take on this name. In the end, after some negotiation from RFU chairman George Rowland Hill, the Cobblers were willing to cede the name to Saints.[16]
Saints formed an early relationship with the Cricket Club, after donating all ticket proceedings from their 1897 game against Portsmouth RFC to the cricket club, they later followed this up with a similar gesture after a game against Bedford in 1899.[17]
Original All Blacks tour
In 1905, Saints managed to secure a game against the Original All Blacks, losing 32–0. After a post-match meeting on 1 May 1905, a third, gold, stripe was added to the shirt to mark the occasion, despite the heavy defeat.[18]
Eight years after Harry Weston's first England cap, Edgar Mobbs made his debut. Edgar was a hero throughout the town, as well as in Bedford after representing them several times also. A victim of the RFU's witch hunting post Great Schism was accused of "professionalism" in 1907 and tried by the RFU, alongside several other players, all of whom were acquitted.[19] He was the first Northampton player to captain his country but is best remembered for his exploits in World War I. After initially being turned down as too old, Edgar raised his own "Sportsman's" battalion otherwise known as Mobbs Own. Edgar was killed in battle, leading his battalion over the top by kicking a rugby ball[clarification needed] into no man's land on 29 July 1917 attacking a machine gun post and his body was never found. Thousannds turned out to see the unveiling of his monument on Market Square.[20]
The club arranged the Mobbs Memorial Match as a tribute. It had been played every year since 1921 and the fixture took place between the Barbarians and East Midlands at Franklin's Gardens until the Barbarians withdrew their support in 2008.[21] The match was saved by the efforts of former Northampton player Bob Taylor and former Northampton chairman Keith Barwell, and since 2012 it has been played alternately at Bedford Blues' Goldington Road ground and Franklin's Gardens, with the host club facing the British Army team.[22] From 2024 the match will be played as a preseason game between Bedford and Northampton.[23]
In this postwar period the Saints continued to grow, and they started to produce some of the best players in England, some of whom went on to captain their country. They were one of the driving forces in the English game for the next 60 years producing players such as Butterfield, Jeeps, Longland, White and Jacobs but hard times were ahead.
Revolution
The club failed to keep pace with movements within the game and top players were no longer attracted to the Gardens, where a 'them and us' mentality had built up between the players and those in charge of the club. Some former players formed their own task force, which swept out the old brigade in the 1988 'Saints Revolution' and put a plan into action that would put the club back at the top of the English game.
Return to Normality
Barrie Corless, as director of rugby, set about restructuring the club and soon the Saints were back on the way up, helped by the signing of All Blacks legend Buck Shelford.
In 1990, Northampton Rugby Union Football Club gained promotion to the First Division and the following year made their first trip to Twickenham to play Quins in the Pilkington Cup Final. They lost in extra time but the foundations of a good Saints line-up were beginning to show in the following few seasons.
Tim Rodber and Ian Hunter forced their way into the England setup while younger players such as Paul Grayson, Matt Dawson and Nick Beal came through the ranks and would follow the duo into the England senior team.
In 1994, Ian McGeechan took over as director of rugby, and although the club were relegated in his first season, they returned in style the next season, winning every single game of their campaign and averaging 50 points a game. This season is referred to by many fans of the club as the "Demolition Tour of Division Two".[24]
Professional era
Bruce Reihana
In 1995, rugby union turned professional and the club was taken over by local businessman Keith Barwell.
In 1999, Saints came runners-up in the Allied Dunbar Premiership, their league campaign climaxing with a crucial home local derby with eventual winners Leicester Tigers, which they lost 15–22.[25]Ian McGeechan had left the club at the end of the previous season to return to coach Scotland, and was replaced by former Saints player John Steele who had done well on a limited budget at London Scottish. Steele relied on the foundations laid by McGeechan, as well as the inspirational captaincy of Samoan Pat Lam to lead the club to European success the following season.
In 1999–2000, the club became a Public Limited Company (Plc) and shares were issued to the public; in this season the Saints lost in the Tetley's Bitter Cup Final to Wasps, but beat Munster 9–8 in the European Cup Final to win their first major trophy.
After a poor start to the 2001–2002 season, former All-Black coach Wayne Smith was appointed as head coach. He went on to transform the club in five short months. A team who looked down and out in November were moulded into a side that reached the Powergen Cup final and again qualified for the Heineken Cup. Travis Perkins became the club's main sponsor in 2001.[26]
In recent times the club narrowly survived relegation from the Premiership, after the coach (Alan Solomons) was sacked in the middle of the 2004–05 season. The coaching role was passed onto the former first teammates Budge Pountney and Paul Grayson to tide the team over. They had a slow start in the 2005–06 season, but continued to stay mainly unbeaten after the New Year. Budge retired at the start of the 2006–07 season leaving Grayson in overall control.
The Saints would again compete in the 2006–07 Heineken Cup. They finished second in their pool, behind Biarritz Olympique, the runners-up from the previous season. Northampton qualified for the quarter-finals and actually met Biarritz in Spain. Despite being in last place of the English league at the time, they defeated the French champions 7–6 to advance to the semi-finals.
Relegation (2007–08)
On 28 April 2007, despite a 27–22 victory over London Irish at Franklin's Gardens, Northampton were relegated from the English Premiership. A "behind the scenes restructure" led to the brief appointment of Peter Sloane as head coach, from the role of forwards coach. Paul Grayson became the skills and backs coach. England Saxons coach Jim Mallinder became the new head coach and director of rugby, with his assistant Dorian West also following as assistant coach. Peter Sloane has since left the club.
On 22 March 2008, Northampton beat Exeter Chiefs to ensure their promotion and a return to the Guinness Premiership. On 12 April 2008, Northampton beat Exeter Chiefs 24–13 at Twickenham Stadium to win the EDF Energy Trophy. On 26 April 2008 they ended their National Division One season undefeated with 30 wins from 30 games.
In March 2010, the Saints won the Anglo-Welsh Cup final against Gloucester 30–24, gaining them their fourth piece of silverware in three years, and a place in the following season's Heineken Cup. They also finished second in the English Premiership, losing to Saracens 19–21 in the semi-final played at Franklin's Gardens, and progressed as far as the quarter-finals of the Heineken Cup losing to Munster at Thomond Park, Limerick.
At the beginning of the 2011–12 season, with nine players out for the 2011 Rugby World Cup in New Zealand, Saints were knocked out of the 2011–12 Heineken Cup in Stadium MK by Munster. When the international players returned, Saints began to move up the table. England picked eight Saints players out of a squad of 32 to represent England, meaning that over a quarter of the England team were Saints – a new club record for the number of players selected for a single England squad.[citation needed] In 2011–12, the Saints reached a third successive Premiership semi-final and a second Anglo-Welsh Cup final in three seasons.
After winning their first five matches of 2012–13, the Saints were pulled back into the pack in the Premiership and exited both the Anglo-Welsh and Heineken Cups, despite ending Ulster's four-year unbeaten home European record just before Christmas 2012.[citation needed] The team finished fourth in the league, and after beating Saracens in the semi-final reached their first ever Premiership final, where they lost 37–17 to Leicester.[28][29] The 2013 season finished with seven players being taken to Argentina as part of the England squad, including Tom Wood as captain.
In the 2013–14 season, the club finished second in the league behind Saracens with a total of 78 points. Despite finishing second in the table, they went on to win the 2013–14 English Premiership, defeating table-topping Saracens 24–20, after 100 minutes of rugby due to the game going to extra time.[30][31] They also reached the final of the 2013–14 European Challenge Cup, which they won by beating Bath 16–30, with the match being played at Cardiff Arms Park in Wales.[32]
2014–2018
Following the most arguably successful season in the club's history, the Saints finished atop of the Rugby Premiership with 76 points. However, they were undone in the 2014–15 Premiership Rugby semi-finals, losing out 24–29 to Saracens on 23 May 2015.[33]
After this, a couple disappointing seasons followed, with on-pitch results leading to a stagnation of the club overall, and on 12 December 2017, largely successful director of rugby Jim Mallinder was ultimately released from the club as a result after spending more than 10 years at the club.[34] On 29 December 2017, Australian coach Alan Gaffney joined the club on an interim basis until the end of the 2017–18 Premiership Rugby campaign, who worked alongside Alan Dickens at the helm.[35] The team finished 9th overall that year with a points tally of 43, but ultimately avoided relegation and confirmed their place in the 2018–19 Premiership Rugby season.
2018–present
The 2024 Gallagher Premiership final was attended by around 35,000 Northampton Saints fans, equivalent to roughly one tenth of the entire population of Northampton.
A new era was confirmed at the club, when it was announced on 29 January 2018, that Hurricanes boss Chris Boyd would link up with the Saints for the 2018–19 Premiership Rugby campaign.[36] The announcement of Boyd was a huge coup for the club, due to the coach's high level profile, and success in Southern Hemisphere Rugby, which included the 2016Super Rugby title with the Hurricanes. In Boyd's first season at the club, the Northampton Saints would go on to lift the Premiership Rugby Cup, by defeating Saracens 23–9 in front of a home-final crowd, which took place on 17 March 2019.[37] The Saints also secured a top 4 finish for the first time since 2015, and Boyd's men would go on to face the Exeter Chiefs in the Premiership Rugby semi-final play-off system. In the 2023–24 season, Northampton Saints won the Gallagher Premiership in a match against Bath, finishing 25–21. This was their second league win, 10 years after their first win in 2014. A parade was organised for the following day and thousands of supporters attended. Roads were shut for this and a route was planned, which went from Franklin's Gardens to the Northampton Guildhall.
The Cinch (then Burrda Sport Stand, centre), Carlsberg (then Tetley's Stand, left), and Church's (right) Stand as viewed from the Barwell Stand
Stadium overview
Northampton Saints have played at Franklin's Gardens since 1880, when the club was founded. Franklin's Gardens is a purpose-built rugby stadium to the west of the town centre, apart from the stadium, the club also has two training pitches, an indoor training centre, car parking facilities and a club shop (all see below). It is about 1,250m from the railway station and about 2,000m from the bus station. The stadium has a capacity of 15,249 spectators and 18,000 for concerts.[38] The stadium also has 40 corporate boxes, each of which can hold from 8 to 24 people. The stadium is also a multi-functional conference centre as well as the only Gallagher Premiership ground with its own cenotaph, which is located on the north corner of the stadium under the main screen. All stands also contain wheelchair areas and wheelchair and disabled access is provided throughout.
The club's cenotaph. The names of all Saints players who died serving in the Armed Forces are displayed here.
Northampton Saints had an unbeaten home record that stretched from March 2007 to March 2009, much of this record was set during the Saints' 2007–08 promotion from the RFU Championship (previously National Division One). During the 2008–09 English Premiership regular season the Saints only lost at Franklin's Gardens on one occasion, to the Newcastle Falcons.
In September 2021, Northampton Saints announced a six-year sponsorship deal with online car dealership cinch, which including naming rights to Franklin's Gardens. The stadium immediately became cinch stadium at Franklin's Gardens and cinch would become the club's principal sponsor from 2022 to 2023 season.[39]
The Carlsberg Stand
The Carlsberg (right) and Barwell (left) Stands.
Until 2018, known as the Tetley's Stand, this stand has the largest capacity of all those in the stadium, and sits on the eastern side of the ground, running along the length of the pitch. The stand was constructed in 2001–2002 and replaced the old east stand. In the stadium bowl, it features both a seated area as well as a terraced standing area. There are 14 executive boxes in this stand above the seated and standing areas. Underneath the stand on the ground floor, the Rodber bar can be found, which also doubles as a conference centre with a full capacity of 600.[40] Also located on the ground floor, the Captain's Bar and Heroes Restaurant function as a conference area and serves certain supporters on match days, they both have a capacity of 150.[41][42] On the first floor there is also a Cocktail bar, called the 1880 Suite, which has a capacity of 50, as well as the Director's Lounge, which also functions as a smaller conference centre and has a capacity of 120.[43][44]
Cinch Stand
The rear of the Cinch Stand, the overhang to avoid building into the pond below is clearly visible.
The Cinch Stand is located to the south of the ground and has the tallest seated area in the stadium, it runs along the width of the pitch. Originally known as the South Stand, it was constructed alongside the Tetley's (now Carlsberg) Stand in 2001–2002. It replaced the old temporary South Stand, which had been up for some time by 2001. Construction was challenging due to the presence of a lake to the rear of the stand and initially much work had to be done to prevent subsidence. By 2005, plans were approved to increase the capacity of the stand and it was made several metres higher, adding around 1000 seats of capacity and 5 executive boxes, again the construction was influenced by the lake. Three stairwells (one for executive box use only) and seven entrance tunnels were added to allow easier access to the higher sections. Several bars were also added to the new concourse as well as additional toilet facilities. There is a gym located on the lower section of the stand though this is used less than the main gym in the Church's stand. In 2010 it was named the Burrda Sport Stand, later becoming the Elite Insurance Stand in 2016 and finally the Cinch Stand in 2022.[45]
Church's Stand
The Church's stand is located to the west and runs along the length of the pitch. It was constructed in 2001–2002, alongside the South and Tetley's Stands. It is an all seated stand and is the only stand to not feature any executive boxes, likely due to design restrictions with it backing onto public land. Underneath the seating area, it contains the changing facilities for the home and away teams, as well as a gym and kit facilities. The Tunnel Club is also located here and functions as a viewing area for hospitality guests located inside the tunnel.[46] The head coach's seating area is also located at the top of the stand, and the benches for each team are located directly below.
A commemorative plaque on the tunnel in the Church's Stand
Barwell Stand
The Barwell Stand was constructed in 2015 and replaced the Sturtridge Pavilion. It is an all seated area apart from the executive box section at the top. In 2009, the Saints' board announced they would be applying to increase capacity to 17,000 with the redevelopment of the North Stand. It was intended this would be funded by a £40 million investment by supermarket chain Asda, who would build a new store on the land used as training pitches. A political battle ensued with the local council, which later came to be seen as an attempt by the board to wrest public funding and public land for their commercial objectives. After the previous controversy, the club secured funding through alternate means – a loan thought to be in the region of £5million through Northampton Borough Council – and with planning permission rubber-stamped, building commenced in the summer of 2015. The Barwell Stand, which was named after the Barwell family, was completed for the start of the 2015–16 Premiership Rugby season, and took the capacity at Franklin's Gardens up to 15,249. The stand also features the Members bar on the ground floor, which functions as a conference area on non-match days. Decorating the wall is an image of every single international player who has ever played for the club.[47]
Stadium Village
The Stadium Village is located behind the Cinch Stand to the south. It features a number of bars and food stalls, as well as a large screen and a seating area next to the lake. Located here is also the Crooked Hooker bar, which can only be accessed by members and is one of the oldest structures still standing on the stadium grounds. There is also a marquee for conference events and club events.[48] The Northampton Saints Foundation offices are also located in one corner of the village.
Club Shop
The Club Shop was acquired in the 1990s and was previously a nightclub/ bar. It is located to the north of the stadium and opens onto the main road (A4500). Sold here are replicas of all kits as well as accessories and other fashion items.[49] The main ticket office is also located to the rear of the Shop.
Northampton Saints High Performance Centre and training pitches
The exterior of Northampton Saint's High Performance Training Centre
In 2023 the club opened the Northampton Saints High Performance Centre, located on the opposite side of the Village to the stadium. This is designed to act as somewhere indoors to train and was partially driven by the distinct advantages that sports teams gain from having a training area that can be used at any given time, even in extreme weather. The pitch has an artificial grass. It was built on the previous main training pitch at the back of the stadium and features changing facilities as well as a half-sized pitch to train on. There are still two further outdoor training pitches that are also used for games by the youth players and second team, as well as for hosting youth rugby tournaments.[50]
Other facilities
The stadium has six car parks, with enough space for 1,500 cars.[51] The main car parks are located next to the outdoor training pitches and were constructed in 2005, they lie opposite the car parks used by the Football Club. The executive parking is located just outside the stadium next to the Carlsberg Stand.
Mill Lane ground
The club's first home was located on Mill Lane, to the south of Franklin's Gardens. Saints played games on this pitch from 1880 until their permanent move to Franklin's Gardens in 1894.[52]
Northampton Saints also played a number of games at the County Ground in the early 1900s, as well as using the venue to host more important games such as the East Midlands vs All Blacks game in 1924.
Northampton Saints' Final Game at the Stadium MK, in 2017.
The club played a 2011 Heineken Cup quarter final match against Ulster at Stadium MK in Milton Keynes, because Franklin's Gardens was too small to meet the minimum 15,000 seats demanded by the European Rugby Cup tournament organisers.[53] The Saints won the match, beating Ulster 23–13, witnessed by a crowd of over 21,000. The Saints also played their semi-final there the same year, beating Perpignan 23–7. The Saints then hosted one Premiership match a season at the stadium between 2014–15 and 2016–17. After this, it was deemed not commercially viable for the club to continue playing at the Stadium MK and up to now, no further games have taken place here.
Kits
The Northampton Saints crest used up to 2024
In 2008, after being promoted from the championship to the premiership, Saints changed from Kooga to Rhino. After two years with Rhino, and coming second in the table, Saints switched again to Burrda Sport, a Swiss sports apparel company. Northampton signed a four-year deal with Burrda that have brought back the old-fashioned ring but with a modern twist for the home shirt and the away shirt with its black and gold ring with a peppermint light green background. In the 2014–15 season Burrda released a kit with horizontal green, black and gold stripes of the same size. It was one of the most popular kit releases of Saints History. Starting in the 2016–17 season Macron are Saints' kit supplier, signing a 10-year deal with the club. For the 2021–2022 season the club released an away shirt with the names of the season-ticket holders that had donated their ticket to the club because of the coronavirus.
1.^In Saints' 1999 away game against Grenoble, they were not permitted to play using Tetley's as a sponsor due to French alcohol advertising laws, as a result they played using a standard home strip with the Tetley's logos removed from the stomach and collar and instead replaced the stomach logo with a permissible "Smoothly does it" text piece (a slogan associated with the brewery)[54][55].
Current kit
The kit is supplied by Macron. On the front of the shirt, Cinch is at the centre while GRS appears on the left and right of the collar. The shoe company Church's appears on the left sleeve. On the right sleeve, the logo of the tournament varies between matches and below it is the Rugby Against Racism logo. On the back of the shirt, Cinch is located above the player name and number. Cinch is also at the top on the back match day shorts.
Commemorative kits
In 2001 a commemorative home shirt was produced with a "Champions of Europe" badge after the Saint's victory against Munster in the final.[56]
In 2021 Saints released a limited edition shirt to mark the 20th anniversary of their partnership with Travis Perkins.[57]
Club culture and identity
Colours and crest
Jersey origins
Saints originally played in a scarlet kit, which was then changed to a black and green kit with no crest, with a simple cross being added at some time before 1884 (the same cross that now forms the basis of the new 2024 crest). This cross was removed from the shirts at some point between then and 1904 and the final, gold stripe was added that year after Saints played the Original All Blacks. These colours would form the design of every home kit since.
Crest history
Throughout the 1950s a new crest was designed and granted to the club by The Heraldry Society. This new crest was effectively a modified version of the coat of arms of Northampton. This new crest was used on all important documents as well as on jackets, training shirts and other pieces of formal wear, though was not included on a match shirt until 1984.[citation needed]
There were two minor changes to the crest that occurred in 1996 and 2016 respectively. Firstly in 1996 the text below the crest was changed to say "Northampton Rugby Football Club", as opposed to the previous "Northampton Football Club" (which is still the legal name of the club to this day). Secondly in 2016 this text was further changed to say "Northampton Saints" instead.
A new crest was revealed on the 11th July 2024, with the original 1880 cross being placed in the centre of a similarly shaped shield.[58] The change was considered controversial by some Saints fans, but supported by others.[59]
Away and cup jerseys
Saints first away shirt came in 1990 and was white, green and gold, essentially a home shirt with the black replaced with white. To this day this is the most commonly used design format for the club's away shirts, though many other designs have been used since. The following years saw this pattern repeated until 1996 when a mainly black kit with small gold and green stripes was used as an away shirt. in the 1999–2000 season, an away kit was rarely used and took the form of either a solid black or dark green shirt. The seasons following saw a return to the mainly black strip until 2005 when a white shirt with small green and gold stripes was used again, with this being repeated as the away design until 2012 when a sky blue shirt was used. The following year a neon green away shirt was used, with this design lasting two years and seeing usage in the Saints' first Premiership title win. An all grey strip was used in 2016 for the first time, with this design returning in 2019. In 2017 another neon green away strip was worn and 2018 a claret shirt was worn as a homage to the county's colours. Finally the classic white returned for 2020 and 2023 and were interspersed by a grey kit in 2021 and a pink kit in 2022 respectively. For 2024 a light grey/ white shirt with no gold was used as an away strip.
Cup/third shirts have been used intermittently by the club, perhaps most famously the hastily designed cup shirt used in the 2002 Powergen Cup final against London Irish, after it became apparent that a kit clash would be inevitable with both the home or away jerseys, with the "third" shirt being a training kit. Third kits since then have varied in colours, with yellow, black, and red all being used from time to time.
Saints' main rivals are Leicester Tigers, whom they face in the East Midlands Derby. Over a number of recent years, the Saints have developed a rivalry with Saracens, largely due to the increased number of fixtures the two teams have performed against one another in, the most notable fixture being the 2013–14 Premiership Rugby Final, in which the Saints ran out victors. The rivalry with Saracens died down somewhat following Saracens' relegation after their Salary Cap Scandal and Saracens' subsequent relegation, but this rivalry has been rekindled somewhat since Saracens' re-admittance to the Premiership. Saints also had a mild rivalry with Wasps during their time in Coventry, but this second Midlands Derby was usually seen as less important to fans of the club.
Songs and chants
There are several songs tied to the club and chants are usually started in the terraced area of the Carlsberg Stand.
Songs
Saints' main club song is When the Saints Go Marching In, and is frequently sung by supporters. Unlike other sports teams that use this song, it is usually sung quicker by Saints fans, at around 140BPM, for its entire duration.
Another frequently used song amongst the crowd in recent years has been "The Fields Are Green", a song that has had connotations with the town and more specifically the Football Club for decades. Dowson introduced the song to the Saints players in 2022 and since then the song that was already known by many supporters begun to be sung in the stands too. This formed part of a wider push for a stronger, more local identity amongst the players.
Chants
Chants of "Come on you Saints" and "Jimmies" (from Saint James) have been used for a long time by the club's supporters, though the latter has fallen out of use somewhat over the last decade. More recently, alongside the singing of "The Fields Are Green", the chants of "Shoe Army" can be heard amongst the crowds, a nickname of the football club that has also recently been adopted by the Saints and relates to the town's shoemaking history. Supporters have also been seen removing their shoes during this chant.
Identity among players
There have been several pushes from different coaches throughout Saints' history for an identity amongst the players. Perhaps the most famous of these pushes was carried out by Wayne Smith, who not only ordered the purchase of the famous "punishment car" used in the 2003 season, a Reliant Rialto painted in the club's colours,[60] but also introduced the idea of having a "player of the week" shirt (an away shirt with a large Superman logo stitched onto the chest) as a reward for players for getting man of the match.
More recently, coach Phil Dowson has pushed for a new identity amongst the players, emphasising the club's connection to Northampton and its history. Players have been encouraged to sing songs about the towns shoemaking history, and many of these cultural changes appear to be as a result of Dowson's admiration for the playing culture of the football club.
Other symbols of the club
Bernie during the 2023–2024 season.
The Stickman
The Saints Stickman is a symbol of the club and has been used since at least the 1980s. The stickman has a halo and is often depicted carrying a rugby ball. Though the origins relating to how the club started using this character are unknown, the origins of the character lie in a series of books written and illustrated by Leslie Charteris. The club sells plenty of merchandise with the stickman's likeness on, though the most popular and enduring of these products is a car decal and many vehicles can be seen driving around town with this symbol on the back as a subtle show of support to the team.
Bernie
Bernie, the club's mascot, is an anthropomorphic Saint Bernard that can be frequently seen at home games. He has been a symbol of the club since at least 1999 and his design has remained the same since then, with only his shirt changing every season.
In 2015 it was announced that GB Railfreight 66754, a Class 66 mainline freight locomotive would be named "Northampton Saints" in honour of the previous year's Premiership title. In doing so, Saints became the first rugby team to have a train named after themselves.[61]
Community
Participation and youth events
Saints have been active in the local community for a number of years, with a large amount of this being carried out at the junior level. Players are often sent by the club to carry out junior training sessions in the twenty or so clubs within the county and the annual Saints training camp takes place at Stowe School every year. More recently there have been other locations used for smaller junior training camps, such as the training pitches at Franklins Gardens.
The Northampton Saints Supporters Club
The Supporters Club was officially founded in 1922 and has the primary objective of acting as an organisation to represent Saints fans and make their voices heard. In terms of secondary objectives, the Club aims to support all the local clubs in the area and to increase attendances both home and away. They frequently meet for social events and they organise coach travel to away games.[62]
The Northampton Saints Foundation
The foundation has its roots in the organised educational actions undertaken by the club in the county, though the idea of supporting local young people was one of the main factors in the club's creation in 1880. The foundation was formally created in 2018 and has provided many opportunities for young people since then.[63] Most of this is centred around education about employability, life skills and interpersonal development.
The second pillar of the foundation is the preservation of history and they frequently carry out educational seminars about the club. The organisation is also responsible for researching the club's history.
The Parish
The Parish is a community initiative set up by the club to support the local area by providing a number of benefits and exclusive offers to people who live within a certain distance of the ground.[64]
Local business relations
Many businesses in the town centre can be seen sporting Saints flags and many bars and pubs in the town have pieces of Saints memorabilia scattered around. In 2024 the Northampton Saints Business Club was created, it aims to form good relations with local businesses to allow the local economy to grow.[65]
Saints announced that for the 2020–2021 Championship and Premiership seasons, they would make a number of players available for usage by Bedford Blues as part of a wider strategic partnership. Both clubs already had a close relationship due to several factors such as proximity, shared history, frequent friendly games already being played and similarities in business models.
The agreement also cemented an annual pre season game to be competed between the two clubs, as well as the exchanging of coaching staff between both teams.
In 2021, Saints announced a partnership with the Loughborough UniversityWomen's Rugby Team who play in Premiership Women's Rugby, the top women's rugby competition in England. The agreement would see several Lightning games being played in Northampton, as well as the Northampton Saints badge appearing on their shirt. Furthermore, the team would be provided with a special kit in Saints colours for these games in Northampton.[66]
The following players have toured with the British & Irish Lions while members of the club, other players have been selected but did not tour due to either injury, suspension or other reasons:
The history of Northampton Saints is one filled with illustrious names. To recognise and honour its best players, the club established its Hall of Fame in 2004. To date 21 players have been inducted:
Note: Flags indicate national union under World Rugby eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-World Rugby nationality.
Leicester Tigers are a professional rugby union club based in Leicester, England. They play in Premiership Rugby, England's top division of rugby.
Bath Rugby are a professional rugby union club in Bath, Somerset, England. They play in Premiership Rugby, England's top division of rugby. Founded in 1865 as Bath Football Club, since 1894 the club has played at the Recreation Ground in the city centre.
Saracens Rugby Club are an English professional rugby union club based in North London, England, currently playing in Premiership Rugby, which is the highest level of competition in English rugby.
Wasps Rugby Football Club is an inactive professional rugby union team. They last played in Premiership Rugby, the top division of English rugby, until being suspended on 12 October 2022. On 17 October 2022, the club entered administration, resulting in relegation from the league and all staff being made redundant. They exited administration on 16 December 2022, but despite resuming day-to-day operations, they currently don't have a team or manager, and are yet to resume playing.
Gloucester Rugby are a professional rugby union club based in the West Country city of Gloucester, England. They play in Premiership Rugby, England's top division of rugby.
Harlequins are a professional rugby union club that plays in Premiership Rugby, the top level of English rugby union. Their home ground is the Twickenham Stoop, located in Twickenham, south-west London.
Leinster Rugby is one of the four professional provincial club rugby union teams from the island of Ireland. They compete in the United Rugby Championship and the European Rugby Champions Cup.
Christopher John Ashton is a retired English rugby union and former rugby league footballer, and one of the few players who have represented England in both rugby codes. Ashton primarily played wing and secondarily played fullback.
Franklin's Gardens is a purpose-built rugby stadium in Northampton, England. It is the home stadium of Northampton Saints and Loughborough Lightning. The stadium holds 15,249 people. It is also a conference, meeting, and events venue, as well as the only Premiership Rugby ground with its own cenotaph, the setting for a ceremony every Remembrance Weekend.
David James Mallinder is a rugby union coach and former player currently working with Scottish Rugby as performance director. He is a former head coach of Sale Sharks, England Under 21s, England Saxons and Northampton Saints.
Dylan Hartley is a former rugby union player who represented England and Northampton Saints.
The 2008–09 Guinness Premiership was the 22nd season of the top flight of the English domestic rugby union competitions, played between September 2008 and May 2009. Round 1 included the London Double Header at Twickenham, between the four London teams.
Sale Sharks are a professional rugby union club from Greater Manchester, England, United Kingdom. Its team play in Premiership Rugby, and have been in England's top division of rugby union continuously since 1995. Originally founded in 1861 as Sale Football Club, it is one of the oldest existing football clubs. It adopted the nickname Sharks in 1999.
Ernst Joubert is a South African former rugby union player. He played at Number Eight for Saracens in the Aviva Premiership from 2009 to 2015 and was the vice captain of the team. He retired from all rugby at the end of November 2015.
Exeter Chiefs is an English professional rugby union club based in Exeter, Devon. They play in Premiership Rugby, England's top division of rugby.
The European Rugby Champions Cup is an annual rugby union tournament organised by European Professional Club Rugby (EPCR). It is the top-tier competition for clubs who compete in a predominantly European league. Clubs qualify for the Champions Cup via their final positions in their respective national/regional leagues or via winning the second-tier Challenge Cup; those that do not qualify are instead eligible to compete in the second-tier Challenge Cup.
Mike Haywood is an English rugby union player who used to play for Aviva Premiership side Northampton Saints. His position was at hooker. He is currently a coach at St Joseph's College in Ipswich and Colchester Rugby Club
History of Leicester Tigers details the history of the rugby union club based in Leicester, England. Nicknamed the Tigers from 1885, Leicester have been a prominent club from the earliest days of organised English rugby dominating midlands rugby before the First World War; providing British Lions captains in 1930, 1936, 1997 and 2001; and winning 21 major titles since 1979 including a record 11 Premiership Rugby titles.
The 2019–20 Gallagher Premiership was the 33rd season of the top flight English domestic rugby union competition and the second one to be sponsored by Gallagher. The reigning champions entering the season were Saracens, who had claimed their fifth title after defeating Exeter Chiefs in the 2019 final. London Irish had been promoted as champions from the 2018–19 RFU Championship at the first attempt.
The East Midlands Derby is a sports derby contested between the rugby union clubs Leicester Tigers and Northampton Saints, both of which are based in the East Midlands. It has been contested for over 130 years and is frequently cited as the most important game for both clubs in the regular season, as well as one of the greatest rivalries in the sport of Rugby Union.
References
↑ "Background". Northampton Saints Foundation. Archived from the original on 25 October 2020. Retrieved 12 December 2023.
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