Saints boss Mallinder: Play-off race will go to the wire

The Saints boss saw his team go fourth last Saturday, with a bonus-point 26-11 victory moving them above local rivals Leicester Tigers.

There are now just six games of the regular season remaining as Mallinder’s men bid to make the play-offs for a seventh successive season.

But the league table has rarely been tighter at this time of the year, with third-placed Wasps and sixth-placed Harlequins separated by just five points.

And ahead of Sunday’s game at second-placed Exeter Chiefs, Mallinder said: “We are top four now and that’s where we want to be.

“We’ve got some good bonus-point wins most recently at home and the more points we can get the better.

“Every single game is important now. You’ve seen that every team can beat each other.

“It’s going to be tough and I think it will go to the wire.

“We’ve won five out of six so we’ve got a bit of momentum now and long may it continue.”