Budge Pountney Quotations

Sean went extremely well for the Wanderers on Monday night. He deserves his chance. We want to make the Wanderers competitive in that if a player plays better for the Wanderers than the player who played for the Saints, they will be up for selection.

My league debut was at Leicester and it is a case of just get on and play; don't panic about it and enjoy the experience. They just need to play their natural game and hopefully the older boys will look after them a little bit.

Bath will be disappointed from last week when Bristol managed to get the game at the death. We have got to front up and be in their faces all day long. This is a team we respect a lot.

We told the referee that and it was his decision from there on as to whether to go with uncontested scrums.

He did extremely well in training this week, and we have been pleased with his attitude. I am sure he will enter the fray at some stage.

Robbie has done fantastically well to regain fitness from what could have bee a career-ending injury. He has been helped and guided by the physiotherapy department and doctors, and they are more than happy to pass him fit.

Steve has played in the back row a number of times and every time he has, he has done extremely well,

Steve has been in the office banging on the door saying, 'When are you going to let me play?

There are three Academy boys in the whole squad - Mark Easter, Dylan Hartley and Alex Rae - in their first year, and they are proving their worth already,

We have got a long way to go.

We turned around a big defeat at Leicester last week with a relatively new team, and that's good. I think they found the passion we've always had at Northampton.

Ben has worked extremely hard and gets what he deserves. He has a great attitude and will undoubtedly improve every year he is here.

Dylan Hartley played well at hooker last week and deserves to keep his place. Steve will find this change of role really refreshing.

The most important thing was the attitude we took into the game,

Steve was playing really well at six, but he wants to go back to hooking,

The guys who are fit will have to perform at the highest level, and I have no doubt they will do that.