Saints are looking to kick-start campaign

NORTHAMPTON last season used the Champions Cup to turbo charge their Premiership campaign and will be looking for a repeat when European rugby’s top club tournament starts this weekend.

- PAUL REES

English champions Saints welcome Castres to Franklin’s Gardens on Saturday before travelling to South Africa to face Jake White’s Bulls in Pretoria. Last season Northampton won in Glasgow and Munster and put 59 points on the Bulls at home before facing Leinster in the semi-final when a late comeback was not quite enough to take them through to the final.

“Our Champions Cup run really pushed us on last season and fuelled a lot of our belief in the Premiership because we knew we could beat top teams in Europe, never mind domestically,” said Northampton’s England centre Fraser Dingwall.

“It was a really good campaign built on a positive outlook. We came close to making the final and even though we lost, the Leinster match was one of my favourite moments of the campaign.

“It was an opportunity to play at Croke Park in a big, high pressure game. The Champions Cup is a really cool competition and when we go to Pretoria to play the Bulls, it will be the first time I have done a week away with Saints.”