Waldouck targeting a Heineken win double for Saints

Northampton return to European action this Friday as French Top 14 side Castres come to Franklin’s Gardens.

That clash is followed by a trip to Glasgow Warriors eight days later, with Saints looking to build on the 10 points they picked up from the first four games in the competition.

Ulster are sitting pretty on 15 points at the top of Pool 4, with Castres second on 12.

But there is still a real belief among the Saints squad that they can upset the odds and qualify for the knockout stages.

“It’s a huge competition for us and we’re still alive,” said former Wasps centre Waldouck.

“We need two big results in the next two weekends and hopefully we can take some momentum into the Heineken Cup and into the rest of the season.”

The momentum Waldouck mentions has come from a fine 30-19 win at Exeter on Saturday, when Saints hit back at their critics with a superb showing.

Some members of the media had doubted Northampton’s title credentials following a tough festive period, but Waldouck says that only spurred his side on.

“We’ve had a lot of criticism in the media, Sky Sports had been on to us,” he said.

“We’d lost by a point the week before to the top team in the Premiership (Saracens) and we’d come under a lot of criticism so it was important to go out on Saturday and prove that we believe in ourselves.

“There aren’t many trophies won in January so we can make a push at the end of the season.”