'A squad we can believe in' - Vesty explains Saints' two-team approach

The black, green and gold are making wholesale changes between matches after the resumption of Gallagher Premiership action.

It allows them to keep players fresh, provide opportunities and, they hope, claim plenty of points.

While one set of players was preparing to square up to London Irish at The Stoop last Saturday, another were steeling themselves for Wednesday's game against Bath.

It is a fascinating time at Franklin's Gardens, with both sets of players desperate to keep their club in the hunt for a top-four finish in the Premiership and push them forward in the Champions Cup.

And attack coach Vesty said: "It's pretty much two different teams and replacements going through both teams.

"It's complicated for the coaches because you're delivering to a team that are playing London Irish on one day and also on that day you're delivering in another meeting to a team that are 15 completely different individuals about how they're going to prep for a Bath game and what it's going to look like.

"Sometimes they train together against each other, and sometimes they're separate.

"Our Academy boys are putting in a sterling effort in training, being opposition and doing a lot of training against sometimes both of those two teams.

"We're lucky enough to have a good enough squad to do that and we've got faith in a large enough number of people to do that.

"Boydy (Saints boss Chris Boyd) has always backed people and when you back people they usually give it back in spades.

"We're all in it for the same reason and we're fortunate we've got a squad we can believe in.

"We've got a squad in which we feel we can field two strong teams and that then gives everyone in the club a fillip because you know you've got a part to play.

"Often when 15 guys are running out on a Saturday and you've got a group who are not involved, not on the bench and not necessarily Academy guys, they can feel a little bit forgotten.

"But in the way we're running it, everyone's got a role and it's going to have an impact on how we finish this season."

Saints' approach paid off last Saturday as they found a winning formula to see off London Irish 27-3.

The bonus-point success was crucial to keep them in the slipstream of the top four ahead of Wednesday night's home game against the team directly above them in the table, Bath.

Saints were slow starters against Irish, having gone into the game on the back of a sluggish 34-21 defeat to Wasps at Franklin's Gardens six days earlier.

But the signs are there that things are starting to click.

And Vesty has explained why it is taking the team a bit of time to do that.

"What's been really difficult is that it was some of our guys' first game last weekend, and usually when you see us in the first week of a league season, there's been a couple of (pre-season) hit-outs against someone else where you get rid of some of that rustiness, and this year we've not had the chance to do that.

"It's all well and good training getting your timing right, but getting it right in a match takes a bit of time and actually doing it.

"I was really impressed with the team that played London Irish because we did exactly what we wanted to try to do in that first half and we were a real threat with the ball for two, three phases and then we'd cough it up.

"The more time we have in the saddle, the longer those phases will go, the more pressure the opposition will be under and we'll score tries.

"We did end up cracking the nut in the second half and executing a little bit better.

"We play a high-skill game and that's going to take a bit more time to get right than if we played with more of a kicking approach."

Bath typically adopt a more direct approach, based around the power of their pack.

They are in fine form, having comfortably won both games since the restart, and they beat Saints at The Rec earlier this season.

"Bath are a difficult team to play against," Vesty said.

"They compete at everything and really try to make every breakdown difficult and hard to get some fluency into the game.

"They bring their own way of playing with a strong set piece that they thrive off and they use it very well.

"They've also got some very dangerous individuals who can hurt you in the blink of an eye.

"Ben Spencer is a good player who's gone there and added to them as a team."

With clubs having to take even more care with the welfare of their players during a time when midweek matches are on the agenda, Saints haven't been able to be sure what kind of Bath side they would face.

But Vesty said: "I don't really look too much at what the opposition inviduals are going to be - it's more what their movement is as a team or their setups are as a team.

"More often than not, they'll be consistent, whoever the individuals are.

"It isn't necessarily much different, but not knowing all the players can make it a little bit trickier because you do usually know what you're planning for.

"But 95 per cent of what we do is based around what we're good at and how we can impose ourselves on a team and that doesn't change."

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