Mallinder hails influence of players leaving Saints

THEY'RE OFF - Phil Dowson and Samu Manoa are two of the 10 players leaving Saints this summer

Samu Manoa, Phil Dowson and Salesi Ma’afu are among a group of 11 who will be plying their trade elsewhere next season.

Dowson’s departure - the flanker is joining promoted Worcester - will bring an end to a successful six-year stay at Saints.

Manoa has been a huge hit since joining in 2011, while Ma’afu, who will join the American at Toulon, helped the club to a double last season.

And Mallinder said: “We are saying goodbye to a number of players this summer.

“For a squad to be successful it needs all of the players to have a positive attitude throughout the week, not just on match days, and to contribute in training and in meetings as well as in the games.

“The players who are leaving have all played their part in helping establish us as one of the top teams in England over the past few years, and we wish them well for their future.”

Saints’ 2015 departures: Phil Dowson (Worcester), Samu Manoa, Salesi Ma’afu (both Toulon), Joel Hodgson, Tom Ryder (both Yorkshire Carnegie), Dom Waldouck (London Irish), Alex Day (Cornish Pirates), Will Hooley (Exeter), Tom Mercey, Josh Skelcey, Cam Dolan (all TBC).

Saints’ 2015 arrivals: Kieran Brookes (Newcastle), Paul Hill (Yorkshire Carnegie), Michael Paterson (Sale), Sion Bennett (Scarlets), Jamie Gibson (Leicester), Tom Kessell (Cornish Pirates), JJ Hanrahan (Munster), Pat Howard (Western Province).