Saints announce new deals for seven first-team players

Alex Waller is another England man to commit his future to Northampton, with Ethan Waller, Gareth Denman and James Craig also signing new contracts.

Hartley had been strongly linked with a move to Montpellier, but has snubbed the French club in favour of a three-year deal at Saints.

Lawes, Clark and Alex Waller are similarly important re-signings, having played key roles in last season’s double-winning campaign.

And Ethan Waller, Denman and Craig are all highly-rated by Saints, who believe the players can be part of a bright future.

“We have a group that has shown time and again that they have the ability to compete at the highest level of club rugby, and retaining players is very important to us,” said director of rugby Jim Mallinder.

“The seven forwards that we have announced today are all good players already, but they still have the ability to improve and we are looking forward to seeing them develop further at Franklin’s Gardens.”