View from the press box: The standout stars and key moments from Saints' 2022/23 season
By Tom Vickers
Published 17th May 2023, 15:06 BST
Saints’ season was to end with Gallagher Premiership play-off semi-final heartache at Saracens last Saturday.
But there have been plenty of highs as well as lows, with our man Tom Vickers having witnessed them all, and he hands out his end-of-season awards here...
9. Hopes and fears for next season
For the second season in succession, Saints have fallen at the play-off semi-final hurdle, and they have now lost nine of their 11 matches at that stage of the Premiership season. That is not a nice record and it is one that will continue unless they can find a way to start to boss big games again, mixing their clear style with real physicality and solidity. The worry is that they are not quite able to live with the likes of full-strength Saracens and Sale sides, but the hope is that, with another summer under their belt, they can evolve to become the kind of all-court team you have to be to win a league title. Saints have so much flair and attacking ability, and the dream is that they can add some extra resilience to their armour. If they can do that, the sky is the limit for this talented young side. But there is no doubt that those teams who haven't finished in the top four this season will share similar aims, and with ambitions outfits like Bath and Harlequins lying in wait, nothing will come easy in the next campaign. But when does it ever for the truly entertaining and at times tortuously frustrating Northampton Saints? Photo: David Rogers