Mercey says history counts for nothing ahead of Saracens showdown

Northampton will head to Allianz Park looking to end a run of three successive semi-final defeats in as many seasons.

They will also contend with a recent run of three consecutive defeats against Saracens, who have won all six of their games at their new Copthall home.

And while the statistics may not make good reading, tighthead prop Mercey is not fazed by what has gone before.

He said: “Of course you can look at previous results and stuff like that, but it’s the beauty of sport that everyone’s going to turn up at the weekend and there’s going to be a winner and a loser.

“Typically you could argue that you’d prefer to go into the game with an underdog tag on your head but I wouldn’t have said that’s something that’s going on in anyone’s head at the moment.

“We want to go out there and prove to some of the doubters that we can still win this thing.”

Saints can draw confidence from some big away showing this season, having beaten the likes of Ulster, Bath, Gloucester and Exeter on their own turf.

And Mercey believes the current squad have now got enough know-how to go on and book their place in the May 25 Twickenham showpiece.

“There’s certainly that experience growing amongst the squad of guys who have played at the highest level in semi-finals so that’s something that is in the back of everyone’s mind,” he said. “But if you carry on thinking about the past it becomes an issue.

“I just think there’s enough maturity and experience in the squad now to revel in the fact this is a great opportunity for us and it’s going to be a good semi-final.”