Mallinder tells disappointed Saints they have ‘to get on with it’

Jim Mallinder has urged Saints to ‘get on with it’ as they bid to bounce back by beating local rivals Leicester Tigers on Saturday.
BAD DAY - Jim Mallinder (right) and Dorian West saw their Saints team well beaten by Racing Metro on Saturday (Picture: Sharon Lucey)BAD DAY - Jim Mallinder (right) and Dorian West saw their Saints team well beaten by Racing Metro on Saturday (Picture: Sharon Lucey)
BAD DAY - Jim Mallinder (right) and Dorian West saw their Saints team well beaten by Racing Metro on Saturday (Picture: Sharon Lucey)

Mallinder’s men square up to the old enemy in an LV= Cup clash at Welford Road, seeking to get back on track after last weekend’s defeat to Racing Metro.

The 32-8 Champions Cup defeat to the Top 14 team at Franklin’s Gardens was a setback for Saints, who had won 16 of their previous 20 matches during the campaign.

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But Mallinder doesn’t want his side, who will be shorn of their Six Nations stars, to dwell on the Racing reverse this week.

And he said: “We’ve got to refocus really. The internationals have gone away so that’s a large number of the squad who won’t be here.

“We’ve got to get on with it because we’ve got the LV= Cup for two weeks now and it builds into the league.”

Racing scored four tries on their way to an impressive victory at the Gardens.

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And reflecting on that game, Mallinder said: “It was a competitive first half and we were very disappointed to concede the try just before half-time. It’s not what you want to do.

“And then what you definitely don’t want to do is concede another when you come out for the second half.

“Sometimes that happens and we were chasing the game from then on.

“We came up against a very good Racing team who played well, put pressure on us in our lineout, pressure on us in the scrum, so we didn’t have too many attacking opportunities.

“When we did get chances we coughed up ball and that’s what happens against quality sides like Racing.”

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