Mallinder: Saracens success vindicated North decision

Saints director of rugby Jim Mallinder felt Saturday’s thrashing of Saracens vindicated his decision to rest Wales star George North.

By Tom Vickers

Published 28th Oct 2013, 07:00 BST

HAPPY MAN - Jim Mallinder was all smiles as his decision to rest George North was vindicated (picture: Linda Dawson)

North was given the day off as Saints powered to a six-try 41-20 victory against the Aviva Premiership table-toppers at Franklin’s Gardens.

Wingers Jamie Elliott and Ken Pisi both registered on a successful day for the Saints backline.

And Mallinder was a happy man as he kept North fresh ahead of the 21-year-old’s testing schedule with Wales during the November internationals.

“In a way what a good decision,” said the Saints boss, who had seen North feature in 536 of his side’s 560 minutes of action during the first seven games of the season.

“You always worry about leaving players out and we’ve had a number of internationals not playing, but Pisi and Elliott were magnificent.

“To see them both scoring tries was very satisfactory.”

North Wales