Mallinder confident Saints can turn the tide in Racing return

Jim Mallinder insists Saints won’t give up as they bid to turn the tables on Racing 92.
Saints director of rugby Jim Mallinder remains confident of a top-four finish (picture: Kirsty Edmonds)Saints director of rugby Jim Mallinder remains confident of a top-four finish (picture: Kirsty Edmonds)
Saints director of rugby Jim Mallinder remains confident of a top-four finish (picture: Kirsty Edmonds)

Mallinder’s men suffered a 33-3 defeat at Stade Yves-du-Manoir on Saturday evening, with the hosts running out convincing winners.

Racing have claimed try bonus points in both of their Champions Cup games this season and look a hugely impressive force.

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Saints must now tackle them again at Franklin’s Gardens on Friday night in a crucial match that could determine the direction of Pool 3.

And Mallinder is confident his side can bounce back after a difficult day at the office.

“It’s a quick turnaround so we know what we’re up against, but we won’t give up,” said the director of rugby.

“We showed some good play at times on Saturday and we went 21-3 down so you’ve got to play there.

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“We ended up playing a bit too much, you’re not kicking your goals, you’re keeping the ball in hand not kicking for corners so I’m not that worried about the score.

“Clearly we got well beaten and there are lots of little bits of our game that we need to work on, lots of accuracy.

“The scrum went well again, which was good against a massive pack, we won some good ball from our lineouts and just needed to be more accurate in terms of what we did off it.

“Defensively, we needed to be a little more physical against such a big side.”

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