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Northampton Saints player and 4 members of staff in isolation

Northampton Saints v Gloucester – Gallagher Premiership – Franklin’s Gardens

Northampton Saints chief executive Mark Darbon believes there is a collective desire for the disrupted Gallagher Premiership season to reach “an appropriate conclusion.”

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Premiership fixtures have been shelved for five weeks after the Government changed its stance on mass gatherings as the coronavirus continues to spread.

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Four rounds of matches are currently affected, which in Northampton’s case covers games against Wasps, London Irish, Bath and Harlequins.

Premiership Rugby’s hope is for a resumption of the league programme on April 24.

Darbon, meanwhile, has confirmed no positive tests for coronavirus at the Saints.

He did, though, reveal that one player, who he did not name, and one member of Saints’ rugby staff are currently self-isolating, plus three other people across the club’s non-rugby performance areas.

“We would love to find a way to bring this season to an appropriate conclusion, and I think that is replicated at the league and certainly other clubs we have spoken to,” Darbon said.

“Our strong preference is to get things finished this year and move on to the next one (season) without damaging that one too.”

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Asked about any impact on clubs’ finances, he said: “It’s one of the things that is right at the top of our minds.

“There is a shared ambition to get our competition completed, so the number of games we might play or lose will have an impact.

“We probably make between £300,000 to £400,000 out of each game, and have four home games left, so a significant hit is a real challenge.

“We are in a decent position and have a strong balance sheet and own our stadium, so we are confident that we can get through this.

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“We are all working on the basis to try and get through this season, and hosting our games is a much better outcome all-round.

“I think we have made the right decision so far. Clubs are supportive of the postponement.

“I think we have a good dialogue. I would be lying if I said I didn’t think there were a lot of questions. We certainly have some big questions ahead.

“At club level, if there is an ability to return to play, we have to manage it carefully as we can’t stand players down and expect them to play full-bore, so we have to be pro-active in our planning to look after our players.”

Northampton stood down their playing group on Tuesday, with squad members all given individual training plans to work on while away from the club.

Darbon added: “They have been unloading kit from the gym to take with them.

“Our facility will be closed for the next three weeks. There is a necessity to keep players ticking over, and that is what we will do. During that period we are preventing players from travelling overseas.”

The Premiership final at Twickenham is currently scheduled for June 20, although were a delayed season to run into July and August, it could potentially raise player contract issues.

The majority of players whose club contracts expire this year will see those deals end on June 30, with terms at any new clubs normally starting from July 1.

PA

 

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Oh no, not him again? 2 hours ago
England internationals disagree on final play execution vs All Blacks

Okay, so we blew it big time on Saturday. So rather than repeating what most people have all ready said, what do I want to see from Borthwick going forward?


Let's keep Marcus Smith on the pitch if he's fit and playing well. I was really pleased with his goal kicking. It used to be his weakness. I feel sympathy for George Ford who hadn't kicked all match and then had a kick to win the game. You hear pundits and commentators commend kickers who have come off the bench and pulled that off. Its not easy. If Steve B continues to substitute players with no clear reason then he is going to get criticised.


On paper I thought England would beat NZ if they played to their potential and didn't show NZ too much respect. Okay, the off the ball tackles certainly stopped England scoring tries, but I would have liked to see more smashing over gainlines and less kicking for position. Yes, I also know it's the Springbok endorsed world cup double winning formula but the Kiwi defence isn't the Bok defence, is it. If you have the power to put Smith on the front foot then why muzzle him? I guess what I'm saying is back, yourself. Why give the momentum to a team like NZ? Why feed the beast? Don't give the ball to NZ. Well d'uh.


Our scrum is a long term weakness. If you are going to play Itoje then he needs an ogre next door and a decent front row. Where is our third world class lock? Where are are realible front row bench replacements? The England scrum has been flakey for a while now. It blows hot and cold. Our front five bench is not world class.


On the positive side I love our starting backrow right now. I'd like to see them stick together through to the next world cup.


Anyway, there is always another Saturday.

7 Go to comments
C
CO 2 hours ago
Scott Robertson responds to criticism over All Blacks' handling errors

Robertson is more a manager of coaches than a coach so it comes down to intent of outcomes at a high level. I like his intent, I like the fact his Allblacks are really driving the outcomes however as he's pointed out the high error rates are not test level and their control of the game is driving both wins and losses. England didn't have to play a lot of rugby, they made far fewer mistakes and were extremely unlucky not to win.


In fact the English team were very early in their season and should've been comfortably beaten by an Allblacks team that had played multiple tests together.


Razor has himself recognised that to be the best they'll have to sort out the crisis levels of mistakes that have really increased since the first two tests against England.


Early tackles were a classic example of hyper enthusiasm to not give an inch, that passion that Razor has achieved is going to be formidable once the unforced errors are eliminated.


That's his secret, he's already rebuilt the passion and that's the most important aspect, its inevitable that he'll now eradicate the unforced errors. When that happens a fellow tier one nation is going to get thrashed. I don't think it will be until 2025 though.


The Allblacks will lose both tests against Ireland and France if they play high error rates rugby like they did against England.


To get the unforced errors under control he's going to be needing to handover the number eight role to Sititi and reset expectations of what loose forwards do. Establish a clear distinction with a large, swarthy lineout jumper at six that is a feared runner and dominant tackler and a turnover specialist at seven that is abrasive in contact. He'll then need to build depth behind the three starters and ruthlessly select for that group to be peaking in 2027 in hit Australian conditions on firm, dry grounds.


It's going to help him that Savea is shifting to the worst super rugby franchise where he's going to struggle behind a beaten pack every week.


The under performing loose forward trio is the key driver of the high error rates and unacceptable turn overs due to awol link work. Sititi is looking like he's superman compared to his openside and eight.


At this late stage in the season they shouldn't be operating with just the one outstanding loose forward out of four selected for the English test. That's an abject failure but I think Robertson's sacrificing link quality on purpose to build passion amongst the junior Allblacks as they see the reverential treatment the old warhorses are receiving for their long term hard graft.


It's unfortunately losing test matches and making what should be comfortable wins into nail biters but it's early in the world cup cycle so perhaps it's a sacrifice worth making.


However if this was F1 then Sam Cane would be Riccardo and Ardie would be heading into Perez territory so the loose forwards desperately need revitalisation through a rebuild over the next season to complement the formidable tight five.

28 Go to comments
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