We can beat anyone now says stoked up Matavesi

SAM Matavesi knew something had changed when he joined up with Northampton after Fiji’s World Cup quarter-final exit last autumn.

- PAUL REES

“Something seemed to have clicked,” said the hooker, below, reflecting on the previous two campaigns when Northampton had made the Premiership play-offs only to find themselves playing away to the teams who would go on and win the tournament, Leicester and Saracens.

“We learned a lot from the last two seasons when we finished fourth and there has been a different mindset this year. We set out with the goal of securing a home play-off and we achieved that by finishing top. It has been a huge squad effort and selection for the semi-final will be interesting.”

Northampton held on to first place despite losing to Bath last weekend in the final round of the regular season.

They finished level on points with the West Country side but stayed above them because they had won a game more. The reward is a clash with Saracens at Franklin’s Gardens on Friday night.

It is a repeat of the one other season when the Saints topped the table, 2014-15. Bath were also second that year and in fourth were Sarries who made the trip up the M1 to Northampton a year after defeating them in the final.

It was their 21-19 victory at Northampton in 2010 that marked the start of Saracens’ rise, the jubilant scenes in the dressing room afterwards sparking a fierce rivalry with the Saints that lasted most of the decade until the fixture became one-sided.

Saracens were at it again in 2015, winning 29-24 with Jamie George scoring one of their two tries and Owen Farrell kicking 19 points. They are two of six survivors in the starting line-up that day with Farrell, along with the Vunipola brothers, leaving at the end of the season.