King: Saints’ semi-final win over Tigers is history

Alex King wants Saints to forget about May’s magical derby day victory against Leicester Tigers when the men from up the M1 come calling again this afternoon.
Alex KingAlex King
Alex King

The attack coach wants his team to move on from the Aviva Premiership play-off semi-final success and claim another victory at Franklin’s Gardens this weekend.

Saints secured a superb 21-20 victory over their fierce rivals on their way to claiming the title at Twickenham.

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Tom Wood’s late try got the job done for the 14-man home team and the renewal of rivalries with Tigers this weekend will bring back good memories for Saints.

“It was an incredible game,” said King. “It had everything.

“It was played in a fantastic spirit, there was a fantastic atmosphere in the crowd and, yes, we’re massive rivals but there’s a huge amount of respect.

“When Woody went over in the corner it was a fantastic moment, but that’s behind us now, we’ve moved on.

“We’re looking forward to the game on Saturday.”

Leicester go into the game on the back of two bruising Champions Cup battles with Toulon, while Saints prepared by gliding past Treviso.

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And King said: “They had a good win at home to Toulon and then came up against a very good Toulon side away, who played really well on the day.

“It’s been a different two weeks in that respect, but we go into the game and we can’t wait for it.

“It’s a great fixture, Northampton-Leicester at the Gardens. The last one here in the semi-final was a fantastic occasion.

“It will be another fantastic rugby match just before Christmas and it’s the kind of game everyone wants to play in.”

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