After an era of Saracens and Exeter dominating English club rugby, I hope this is the start of a new era of Saints and Bath. Two great clubs with supporters who did them proud today at Twickenham. It was great occasion.
Truly one of the great nights at the Gardens. It hasn’t been that loud for ten years. So pleased for such a genuinely likeable bunch of
@SaintsRugby
players.
I’ve seen some great wins watching
@SaintsRugby
over the years (and some in the last few weeks) but in terms of grit and toughness and sheer bloody-mindedness that’s right up there. Incredible performance under very tough circumstances.
Something from yesterday that says a lot about
@SaintsRugby
:
Twenty minutes after the final whistle, after putting in a huge, exhausting 80-minute shift, Sam Graham was back out with Kev the Kitman collecting tackle bags and cones.
Why? “I’d do anything for Kev.”
I’m still struggling to comprehend what just happened. Incredibly proud of this
@SaintsRugby
team. They are a really fine group of young men.
We are lucky to have them and this should be just the start of a black, green and golden age.
One of the best games I’ve seen for years.
@SaintsRugby
were extraordinary and Exeter played their part too. Saints just don’t know when they’re beaten.
Premiership rugby at its finest.
What an utter shambles. In years to come people will look down the results and see
@SaintsRugby
had to forfeit, with no awareness it was through no fault of their own. Farcical. The match should have been cancelled and the points shared.
105 years since Edgar Mobbs fell leading his men of the 7th Northamptons.
The greatest of all those who have pulled on the black, green and gold of
@SaintsRugby
.
RIP ERM: 29.6.1882 - 31.7.1917
Especially pleased for
@SaintsRugby
coaches Ian Vass and Matt Ferguson this evening, after a win built on the scrum and good defence. They deserve a beer tonight.
Always a moving day at
@SaintsRugby
as they remember the 23 players who died in the two World Wars.
As it says on the War Memorial, They Played the Game.
Jack Gillam: “a quiet, unassuming, gentlemanly man”.
Jack was a teacher and played rugby for
@SaintsRugby
,
@BedfordBluesRFC
&
@olneyrfc
.
He joined up with his captain Edgar Mobbs and was killed on this day in 1915 at Loos.
I know we're all still a bit flat after last night, but seeing the
@SaintsRugby
captain
@LewisLudlam
wearing an
@ntfc
in the crowd last night says a lot about this great sporting county and the pride we take in our teams.
And Jon Brady has a team we're all proud of.
Excellent night for
@SaintsRugby
. Superb in every department. Good to see the away support celebrating in the traditional Northamptonian way!
Over to you
@ntfc
!! Good luck Cobblers!
👞 😇 👞 😇 👞 😇
Tom Collins of
@SaintsRugby
. Killed on this day 1917 at Passchendaele leaving a wife and six children.
Collins was a stretcher-bearer when he was hit by a shell. He’s buried at Tyne Cot cemetery close to where he fell.
121 appearance for Saints.
Sorry that Jim Mallinder is leaving. Always enjoyed our weekly chats, in good times and bad. There's a warmth and humour about him that doesn't always come across. And his love for
@SaintsRugby
was deep.
Courtney is without doubt one of the greatest players ever to have represented
@SaintsRugby
. No-one can surely begrudge him a big payday?
The club will now move forward without him, but it’s time for the lift tower to be re-sculpted:
The Colossus of Jimmy’s End.
Very enjoyable evening at the
@premrugby
7s. But really...”Premiership Rugby Dancing Girls”? Is this really the message you want to be giving girls about rugby? How about having some girls playing rugby rather than dancing on the sidelines?!
#PREMRUGBY7
I always felt that
@DylanHartley
changed after the 2013 Prem Final. He was less abrasive & more reflective, which made him a better captain & more interesting & fun to interview. His influence at
@SaintsRugby
will be felt for years to come.
Yes, the traffic will be annoying and yes, it’s a shame for those wanting to go to both games, but having both
@ntfc
&
@SaintsRugby
under the lights on 24 January is a chance to show the world what we all know: when it comes to sport, there really is no finer town.
#sportteyn
100 years ago today
@SaintsRugby
's Freddie Blakiston saved the lives of several men, dragging them from the wreckage of an artillery column while under heavy fire. He was awarded the MC for this extraordinary bravery.
75 years ago today the Northamptonshire Yeomanry fought a tank battle at Saint Aignan in Normandy.
The villagers still proudly remember their liberators.
A corner of a foreign field that is forever Northamptonshire.
It feels like a privilege to be here at
@SaintsRugby
today. It’s not the same without you all, but I don’t take for granted how fortunate I am to be here in the sunshine.
The image of Jon Brady shedding a tear when he knew
@ntfc
were definitely going up said it all. A top man who’s worked miracles this season.
We’re lucky to have him and we’re lucky to have this group of players.
Wonderful stuff
#Cobblers
.
My heart breaks for all my old friends at London Irish. It’s been so much more than a rugby club for so many people for 125 years.
I’m heartbroken for Macca, Dec & Paddy & for all the wonderful supporters. It’s been a big part of my life.
It should never have come to this.
Thank you for all your kind comments. I'm very fortunate to work with
@SaintsRugby
with such a rich history. I was also very lucky to work with Jon Cooksey for so many years and miss him every day. He'd be pleased but would also be saying, "Bloody Keckers, taking all the credit"!
💬 “Graham is a font of knowledge on the history of the Club.”
A man who has helped uncover so much of Saints’ fascinating past already, we’re delighted to appoint
@GrahamMcKechnie
as our Club Historian.
Happy birthday Edgar!
140 years ago the greatest
@SaintsRugby
player of them all, Edgar Mobbs, was born at Billing Road, Northampton.
On Saturday
@wallabies
and
@EnglandRugby
compete for a new trophy bearing his name.
“So long as that magnificent British spirit of sportsmanship and fairplay exists amongst us, so shall the name of Lieutenant Colonel Mobbs never be forgotten.” (The men of D Company)
Edgar Mobbs
Killed in action 31 July 1917
The greatest
@SaintsRugby
player of them all.
There’s a lot of talk of “war” this weekend at Murrayfield. In January 1915 an England XV played a Scotland XV in Northampton.
All were serving soldiers. Five of these players did not survive the war, including the England captain Edgar Mobbs.
The highs, the lows, and the respect from one competitor to another 🤝
This is the moment
@SaintsRugby
won the
@premrugby
final from an on-the-pitch perspective 😇🏆
“He has gone, but so long as that magnificent British spirit of sportsmanship and fairplay exists amongst us, so shall the name of Lieut. Col Mobbs never be forgotten. - D Company”.
Edgar Mobbs, the greatest
@SaintsRugby
player of them all, killed in action on this day in 1917.
Desperately sad news. Rob is one of the good guys. Terrific player & an even better man. I’m sure he was a future
@SaintsRugby
captain. It’s hard to take it in. He will be so badly missed at Franklin’s Gardens.
Very pleased for Phil Dowson & Sam Vesty. They deserve their chance.l and it’s the right move.
And grateful for everything Chris Boyd has done for the club and for me personally. He’s a very fine human being and I’ll miss him. Time to go home to enjoy being a grandfather, Boydy.
Saints coaches Phil Dowson and Sam Vesty will move into senior management roles at the end of the 2021/22 Gallagher Premiership season following confirmation that Director of Rugby, Chris Boyd, will return to New Zealand.
Can’t remember the last time I enjoyed myself at Franklin’s Gardens as much as this afternoon. A very promising future for
@SaintsRugby
with those exciting young players.
One more thought on
@DylanHartley
’s retirement. For someone as interested in the history of the game & of
@SaintsRugby
, even to be mentioned in the same sentence as Edgar Mobbs will matter an enormous amount to him.
Dan Biggar will become the third
@SaintsRugby
fly-half to start a Test Match for the
@lionsofficial
.
Robin Harrison was the first in 1910 v Argentina;
@gregortownsend
the second in 1997 v South Africa.
Expect the explanation/justification of why Care wasn’t shown a yellow card yesterday will be that the penalty was for the push rather than offside. But everyone watching knows why Karl Dickson blew his whistle and went to his pocket and it wasn’t for a push.
2008: Foden makes his
@SaintsRugby
debut v Worcester
2018: 250th & final appearance as captain v Worcester.
Couldn’t have planned it better.
#hasntchangedabit
Impossible to sum up what Alex has meant to the club over the years.
One of the greatest servants Saints has ever had and a lovely man off the pitch too.
It won’t be the same without him!
BREAKING!
@SaintsRugby
legend Alex Waller will retire at the end of this season.
Captain ✅ Premiership Title ✅ Record appearance holder in the professional era ✅
A one-club man 😇
I can help the culture secretary with an example of BBC bias. She should have a listen to
@LennieNewman1
’s reaction to Saints beating Munster on Saturday evening on BBC Northampton.
100 years ago today
@SaintsRugby
vice-captain Ernest White died on the Western Front. A very brave man, he won the Military Cross earlier in 1918. It wasn’t a German bullet that finally brought down this great Saintsman, but influenza.
Without doubt one of the greats in
@saintsrugby
’s long history. And even more importantly a very good man too. He surely has much more still to offer the game.
31 July 1917: Edgar Mobbs, the greatest
@SaintsRugby
player of them all fell in Shrewsbury Forest near Ypres.
Saints captain, England captain, commanding officer of the 7th Northamptonshire Regiment.
His was an extraordinary life.
I'm in awe of the players who do this challenge each year. And I'm proud to have helped to tell Freddie Blakiston's remarkable story with my much-missed friend Jon Cooksey.
Blakiston was an incredible man - there are many more tales to tell about him, truly one of the greats.
Since 2018, the Blakiston Challenge has become a focal point of preseason at Northampton Saints.
Here, we tell the remarkable story of the Saints War Hero who inspired it and go behind the scenes at Castle Ashby for the 2022 run.
Hetherington, Hunter, Beal, Foden and now
@GeorgeFurbank
, the latest in a long line of
@SaintsRugby
full-backs playing for England.
The moody, mysterious look needs a bit of work though.
Walter Tull
28 April 1888 - 25 March 1918
Never forgotten - especially in Northampton and at
@ntfc
.
“Massive in build, strong as a lion was Wally. Off the field he was a gentleman.”
Very pleased that
@tomwood678
is sticking around at
@SaintsRugby
. We've seen in recent weeks how much he still has to offer and what an influential player he is both on and off the pitch. Very good news.
Tom Collins was killed in action
#OnThisDay
at Passchendaele.
A shoemaker by trade, Tom was a stalwart of the
@SaintsRugby
pack in the years before the First World War. He was carrying a stretcher when he was hit by a shell.
He left a wife and six children in Northampton.
Deeply sad news this evening as we hear that Tom Smith has passed away.
The British & Irish Lion was one of the most gifted props ever to pull on the BG&G jersey, and an incredible character to boot.
Our thoughts are with Tom’s loved ones at this time 🖤💚💛
#1769
I’ve just discovered it’s
@LennieNewman1
’s birthday today. It’s a big one and he’s trying to keep it quiet.
Help me out Twitter.
HAPPY 60th LEONARDO!!
I wrote to Jimmy Armfield when I was 18 to ask for some advice about journalism. A few days later I was in his sitting room having a cup of tea & a chat with this Blackpool legend. An immensely kind & generous man.
John Dodd was killed in action 100 years ago today, just four days before the fighting stopped. As it says simply & poignantly on his headstone, he was captain of
@LiRFC
.
“Ireland can ill afford to lose such a man.”
“He played the game like some
Elizabethan adventurer, reckless & without fear.”
Freddie Blakiston, born 16 June 1892
One of the bravest and toughest men ever to have pulled on the black, green & gold of
@SaintsRugby
:
Three Grand Slams, a Lions tour and a Military Cross.