Northampton fullback James Ramm will go 'all out' in Premiership Cup derby against Leicester
Yesterday at 04:33 AM
By Ben Grundy
Since their first meeting in 1880, you think a 30-mile rivalry would have perhaps petered out as time has grown on. However, Northampton Saints fullback James Ramm showed no sign of derby day dimming in its meaning, saying his side intends to go 'all out' against East Midland rivals Leicester Tigers in the Premiership Rugby Cup (PRC) on Saturday, February 1.
The two sides last met at Franklins Gardens in early November which saw the bragging rights awarded to Northamptonshire, following a dominant 31-12 victory early on in the competition. Since 2022, James Ramm has had the time to familiarise himself with the significance of derby day:
"It was one of the first things mentioned in our meetings this week, that no matter the competition, whenever we play Leicester, it is all out. So, nothing changes this week, it is still the same feeling.
"I think Dowse (Phil Dowson) said he had never won away at Welford Road so what an opportunity to go and make sure you don't do the same."
Director of Rugby Phil Dowson is excited to return to the competition after a tricky spell for Saints in the Premiership, where they only managed to win two of their last five: "We love this competition.
"We have had really good experiences from it, the whole ethos of the club is around development, and we get guys who come in under the academy who are 18, we get guys who come in from the championship and the PRC gives them the opportunity to put the Saints shirt on for the first time.
"To focus on that group that are coming through and to see who has the mentality for it is exciting and as a coaching group we love the tournament."
One exciting young talent who has made his mark on both the competition and Phil Dowson's team selection sheet is George Makepeace-Cubitt, who has impressed in both the PRC and the Premiership from fly-half.
"I think it speaks volumes about him as a person (his performances in the Premiership against Bath and Harlequins), about how hard he has been coached by Jake Sharp and Sam (Vesty) and how hard he has pushed himself.
"I think he had a great game at Quins, and he looks better than he has done previously, so you can see that improvement and we are excited about seeing where he can get to," the Director of Rugby said.
Looking ahead to familiar opposition, Dowson said that his side needs to focus more on themselves than what's in front of them: "We know what Leicester are like as a group, we know what their strengths are traditionally, and we will make sure we are aware of those, and we approach those in the right way.
"At the same time, we want to make sure our scrum is doing things that the Saints' scrum does and are maul is doing what we want it to do. We can be very process-driven based on the action and make sure our performance is based on the action we want to see. If they do something we weren't expecting, and it catches us cold then we will be better for it next time."
A rivalry that saw Northampton come out on top returns again on February 1, where Saints will be looking to retain the East Midlands bragging rights at Welford Road from 3pm.
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