Saints back on song

The Saints were beaten to a place in the semi-finals by Euro stalwarts Munster with a 33-19 loss in Thomond Park last weekend.

But that was a distant memory for Mallinder and co. as his side recorded a 38-23 win over Gloucester in the Guinness Premiership to go back to the top of the table.

Now Mallinder says that his focus is on steering the Saints to a Play-Off place. He said: "We bounced back from a disappointing defeat in Munster, but after one day off the boys got down to business and now we can focus all our attentions on one competition. Our target is to earn a home semi-final in the play-offs, and then perhaps a place in the play-off final at Twickenham."

And the coach hailed Chris Ashton as "remarkable" after the Saints replaced Leicester at the top of the Guinness Premiership.

Ashton scored a hat-trick as Northampton beat Gloucester 38-23 and Mallinder said: "Chris knows when and where to turn up and he also makes the breaks.

"His first try was unbelievable. That is his second try hat-trick in the league this season. Chris knows where to find the weak points in defences. He is strong, fast, and getting better all the time. His try-scoring record of 22 in 29 games is remarkable."

Mallinder admits Northampton now face a difficult week with two games in five days, both against teams with everything still to play for.

He added: "We have a tricky week ahead. We go to Bath on Tuesday night, then face Saracens at home next Saturday, and we have to be smart in terms of selection because of the Elite Player Squad regulations that allow you to play a guy for no more than 160 minutes over three games.

"We picked a team to win this game and I'm very pleased with the way we went about our business. We've come away with a bonus point and we earned our win against a good footballing side. I've been asked why we kicked penalties late on instead of going for the fourth try, but my attitude is you must win your game first and worry about bonus points later.