All hands on deck as Saints bid to secure back-to-back wins

Nic Groom admits Saints did plenty of soul-searching before last Friday's victory against Sale Sharks.
Nic Groom (picture: Sharon Lucey)Nic Groom (picture: Sharon Lucey)
Nic Groom (picture: Sharon Lucey)

And the scrum-half says it is now all hands on deck as Jim Mallinder’s men bid to make it back-to-back wins by beating Gloucester on Sunday.

Saints had suffered four successive defeats before securing a 24-5 victory against Sale at Franklin’s Gardens.

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But they will now go into 2017 on the back of a welcome win, and the players are in a more positive frame of mind than they were prior to the Sharks clash.

“It was a tough couple of weeks for the lads with some harsh words said, but we bounced back,” Groom said.

“There was a challenge put in front of us and although it wasn’t pretty, we came out and did the job.

“There was a bit of desperation from the lads.

“You’re a dangerous beast when you’re all on the same page and you’re collectively involved, and that’s what you saw last Friday.

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“There were some mistakes, there were some things that we got wrong, but the intent to put it right was quite evident last Friday night.”

And he added: “We had to assess what’s gone on.

“It’s not only things on the field, it’s a big inspection and it’s all hands on deck in these next few weeks, no matter who we play or where we play.

“We need to get a few wins now.”

Groom admits Saints’ form has not been good enough this season.

They currently sit sixth in the Premiership and are bottom of Champions Cup Pool 4 with only four points from as many matches.

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And Groom said: “Let’s be honest, the previous four weeks on the bounce (before the Sale game) we hadn’t turned up.

“At Northampton Saints, we’re out there to win every game so it’s been tough.

“Your pride is tested and, firstly, you’re tested individually.

“Everyone out there’s having a go at you and we set out some challenges for ourself to control the things we can control.

“We came out and things went our way, which was a really good feeling.”