'A massive game for us' - Litchfield looks forward to Saints' Tigers tussle
Tom Litchfield says Friday's game at Leicester Tigers is 'massive' for Saints as they bid to end their current block of cup games on a high.
This week's clash at Mattioli Woods Welford Road will be the final one in the PREM Rugby Cup before the black, green and gold return to Gallagher PREM action.
They will go to Bristol Bears next Saturday before beginning their European campaign on the following weekend, so the trip to Tigers is a real sharpening up exercise for Saints.
And centre Litchfield said: "We'd like a win to finish off the PREM Cup block and to kick-start us going back into the PREM so it's a massive game for us.
"You'll see certain lads play different amounts coming back into the PREM and you'll see boys chopping and changing, getting a bit of match fitness here and there.
"It's a bit of a balancing act but I think we're doing a good job of it so far."
Saints lost their unbeaten start to the season last Saturday as they saw Newcastle Red Bulls come back from a 14-5 half-time deficit to win 31-14 at cinch Stadium at Franklin's Gardens.
And Litchfield said: "It was definitely disappointing but lots of learnings for us to take from that into this weekend.
"This is obviously a big game against Leicester so we're looking forward to righting some wrongs.
"We always relish the opportunity to go to Welford Road and any game against Leicester.
"It would be a nice way to finish the block to go and perform up there.
"Everyone is really looking forward to it."
Before Saints kicked off against Newcastle, some of the club's stars were helping England to beat New Zealand at Allianz Stadium.
Though he didn't get a chance to watch the game live as he was in action for Saints, Litchfield has managed to catch some of the highlights his club-mates provided.
And the 23-year-old admits it is inspirational to see what centre partner Fraser Dingwall and others are doing on the international stage.
"I didn't catch any of the New Zealand game live because we had our game here, but from what I've seen since, all the boys did really well," Litchfield said.
"I've seen clips of Dingers scoring and it's really great to see those boys performing well.
"It's great because we always talk about if we perform well as a club, we get recognition on international stages, so it's really nice to see all those boys playing a lot of minutes for England."