i Never Knew... - Northampton Saints

ercrugby.com has dug deep into the record books to present 20 things you never knew about the Northampton Saints...

THE CLUB

The Saints' motto, which dates back to the club's origins as a means of harnessing the energy of the local Boys Improvement Class in 1880, is still 'Nothing Without Labour'.

The Boys Improvement Class was run out of St James Church, hence its official nickname Saints and unofficial nickname Jimmies.

Franklin's Gardens used to be pleasure gardens that included a zoo.

Saints played against the touring All Blacks in 1905. The New Zealanders were treated to visits to the Royal Theatre and a local shoe factory before playing in front of a crowd of 5,000.

That match was the first time Saints wore their now customary colours of black, green and gold.

HONOURS

The Heineken Cup is the only trophy Saints have ever won back in 2000.

THE GROUND

Franklin's Gardens is overlooked by the former Express Lifts tower, which Terry Wogan once described at the Northampton Lighthouse.

Northampton's ground, Franklin's Gardens, has a capacity of 12,500

Franklin's Gardens war memorial to players lost in the first and second world wars reads: 'They Played The Game'.

Bernie the mascot ran last year's marathon in 5hrs 10mins with wing Jon Sleightholme.

The family bar in the new-look Franklin's Bar is called Heroes. The biggest new public bar was named after former skipper Tim Rodber.

THE PLAYERS

There are just two Northampton born-and-bred players in the current Saints squad - wing Ben Cohen and prop Kelvin Todd.

Saints fly-half Ben Russell is the youngest professional player registered to play in this season's Zurich Premiership - he turned 18 in the summer.

Saints lock Jon Phillips recorded his 300th appearance for the club against Gloucester on December 28, 2002. He is the current longest serving player in the squad.

The current squad has fathered 21 children.

Lock Steve Williams' father-in-law played football for Northampton Town and lived in a house in Melbourne Gardens, which is a road that runs parallel with Franklin's Gardens.

THE STAFF

Chairman Keith Barwell's wife Maggie has a racehorse called Franklin's Gardens.

Saints were the first club to appoint a director of rugby - Ian McGeechan.

Saints' longest serving secretary was Jerry Gordon after whom the Gordon Terrace was named

The player who made the most appearances for Saints was the recently deceased former RFU president Ron Jacobs. He made 470 appearances.