Jim Mallinder has warned his players not to get caught up in
the derby day atmosphere as Northampton Saints host Leicester Tigers in their
Aviva Premiership opener on Sunday.
Local bragging rights are also at stake as the sides that
occupied the top two spots in the Premiership table last season go
head-to-head, but director of rugby Mallinder will not allow his team to lose
focus.
“The players won’t get too hyped up about it,” he said,
adding: “They know each other - there are a lot of England players who have
played together before.
“But you can’t get too involved in this rivalry; it’s a game
of rugby. We’ve looked at their strengths, what we perceive as some of their
weaknesses and I'm sure they've done exactly the same looking at us.
“Leicester on Sunday is going to be a cracking game, we know
they're going to be very competitive and that they’re going to be one of the
sides to beat in the Premiership, and we may as well have them first game.”
The Tigers have lost long-serving flanker Lewis Moody to
Bath, while talented young second row Jordan Crane is injured. However,
Mallinder believes Leicester have plenty of strength in depth to counter that.
He is also impressed by their half back combination of
England duo Toby Flood and Ben Youngs, saying: “They're two of the best in the
country and that’s why they’re playing for England.
“Ben Youngs in particular with some of his sniping play is
outstanding. You give him an inch and he'll take it, particularly around the
breakdown and from scrums he is very quick.
“Toby Flood is a bright, intelligent player. He likes to run
with the ball, he’s a good distributor, and he’s got good kicking and attacking
games.”
Sunday’s game kicks off a hard start to the season for
Saints, who also face Harlequins away, Bath at home and a trip to Saracens in
their first four matches of the new campaign.
Naturally, Mallinder wants wins from all four to get
Northampton up and running early on, although he concedes that is a lot to ask.
He said: “It's going to be tough to do that and all of those sides will be well
prepared.
“We’ve never had much luck going down to Harlequins – it’s a
difficult place to play - Bath here is difficult and we know Sarries is going
to be as well.
“But you’ve got to do it one game at a time, prepare as well
as you possibly can, give it your best shot and sometimes you need a bit of
luck.
“That doesn’t make your season, there are 22 games in the
Premiership and you’ve got to take each game as it comes.
“It’s really tough, but it’s what you get. You know you’ve
got to play every club home and away, so you've just got to go with it.”
