Foden urges Saints to keep Champions Cup flame burning

And the experienced full-back is urging his team-mates to avoid a repeat of the harrowing defeat they suffered against the Irish side three years ago.

Leinster were 40-7 winners in Northampton in December 2013, with Leinster scoring six tries in a rampant display.

It was a sobering night for Saints, who produced a stunning reaction to win 18-9 in Dublin the following weekend.

But with another big double-header against Leinster lying in wait over the next couple of weeks, Foden knows his men must be on their guard from the off.

“Obviously they’re a great outfit and we’ve got a bad taste in our mouths from the last time we played them at Franklin’s Gardens,” the 31-year-old said.

“They came and gave us a good hiding so if we want to continue in the Champions Cup, we’ll need a big performance this weekend to keep those hopes alive.

“We’ll take a step forward and hopefully we can build again.

“We can’t change the past so let’s take the positives from Leicester last weekend and look forward to a big week.”

Saints go into the game on the back of a 19-11 defeat at Leicester Tigers last Saturday.

And Foden said: “We’re gutted that we got nothing from the game because I think we deserved more than that, but I think we can take some positives and build on it for this massive week.

“We needed a reaction last week from the Newcastle game.

“Leicester Tigers are a brilliant team and we haven’t won there for a number of years.

“We knew it was going to be a big ask and we wanted a performance and, importantly, a result, but it didn’t come.

“We improved but I still feel there’s a lot more to come from this side, with the players we have.

“With the calibre of players they were missing, they were there for the taking and it was a game we felt we could have won.”