Saints lock Christian set to get Day off against Irish

Jim Mallinder says he may take the opportunity to rest Christian Day against London Irish this weekend.
DAY OFF - Christian Day (left) could be rested for Saints' game against London Irish (Picture: Linda Dawson)DAY OFF - Christian Day (left) could be rested for Saints' game against London Irish (Picture: Linda Dawson)
DAY OFF - Christian Day (left) could be rested for Saints' game against London Irish (Picture: Linda Dawson)

Day was forced off with a calf injury in the 28-24 Aviva Premiership defeat at Saracens last Sunday.

The experienced lock has been a reliable member of the first-team squad this season, making 29 appearances so far.

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And Mallinder admits it may be a time to give the 30-year-old the day off as he looks to utilise other members of his squad.

“Christian got a bit of calf damage,” said the Saints boss. “It’s not bad so we’ll see on him.

“He’s improving but he’s played quite a few games recently so that might be an opportunity for us to rotate.

“We’re in a good position now that all the internationals are back and we’ve got Samu (Manoa) and Courtney (Lawes) who can play in the second row, plus James Craig and a number of our back rowers who can move up and need game time.

“We’ve got lots of good options in that back five.”

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Second-placed Saints are now just three points clear of Leicester Tigers in the race for a top-two finish in the Premiership.

And Mallinder admits Sunday’s game against Irish at Franklin’s Gardens is one his team simply have to win.

“The pressure on the lads is that we want a home semi,” he said. “It’s as simple as that.

“We want to finish in the top two if we possibly can and we know it’s down to us.

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“We’ve had a bit of slack because we’ve played well and that gave us some points in the bag, but we’ve lost that now.

“We’re three points clear of Leicester with three games to go and we know we’ve got to beat London Irish at home.”