Former All Black Bruce Reihana is leading the Northampton Saints back to where they belong – the Guinness Premiership. He spoke to www.rucked.com
Hey Bruce, top of league, the Saints camp must be a good place to be?
The mood is really good and we had a good win at the weekend – 44-5 away to Graham Dawe’s Plymouth. We didn’t have the best start and it was windy conditions and the ground was soft too. But in the second half it came good, we targeted five points and came away with eight tries.
How’s life been in National One?
I’ve really enjoyed the year – although winning helps. Going to all the different places and different grounds has taken me back to the grass roots rugby I played when I was young. The standard of rugby is obviously a step down from the Premiership but the forward packs have been very big and physical – they’ve matched our forwards week-in, week-out for at least half of the game. All the packs are big and heavier than ours and our boys have worked really hard to dominate them and eventually they have done. It’s all a big test for us and everyone is still trying to knock us off the top.
Any players that have stood out among the opponents?
There’s quite a few players who’ve stood out and played well – particularly in the forwards. There’s a few backs around that have been good but we’ve generally not been troubled too much. We’ve been able to beat whatever has been thrown at us but we need to keep our heads on, we don’t want to get beaten now.
Exeter’s defeat at the weekend was good news…
We knew Bedford were going to be a tough side to beat at home. It was really good when we came off the pitch and heard that Exeter had lost – it’s given us a bit of a clear run at the top. We’re ten points clear and we’ve got a game in hand, but we know we have to keep pushing hard.
You can’t really lose it now can you?
If I said that I’d be an absolute fool – our goal is to win every game mate…
Did the Ben Cohen incident cause any trouble to pre-season?
No, it didn’t disrupt us. It was sad to see him go, he’s a great player but everyone moves on to bigger and better things.
What about on a personal level, it was about the captaincy…
No, not at all, I knew Ben didn’t hold it against me. We’ve been close mates since I’ve got here and I looked up to him. He pushed me in training and I used Ben as encouragement to go on and do better things. At one stage he was one of, if not the, best winger(s) in the world. He’s still got so much to give and people can learn a lot from him.
How have you found Mallinder and West?
Really good, I’ve been really impressed with Jim and Dorian – they’ve made good changes to the club. They’re very direct, straight and upfront, there’s no lies and they say everything to your face. It’s nice to know where you stand and the direction they’re pushing us in looks good.
You’ve got two young players in the Saxons’ squad, has that been one of the club’s targets – to develop English players?
Not too sure, you’d have to ask the coaches. Every side has a great mixture of talent from all over the world, it’s just a case of bringing in the right players to play for the team and the shirt and then making sure they’re on the same wavelength.
Will the Saints’ side that goes up better than the one that came down?
I think the biggest thing about all of this has been the massive learning curve we’ve been on. In our last two seasons we flirted with the bottom of the Premiership and, last season, when had chances to get it right, we couldn’t fix it. Going down was a sad time and I was disappointed for the club. Since then a few players, coaches and managers have left, so we’ve been through a big phase of change – hopefully we’ve learnt from our mistakes and we can now climb the ladder and make a statement.
The fans have been turning out in their droves…
Mate, as long as I’ve been at this club they’ve never let us down. There’s been a lot of good and bad times and they’ve stuck with us through thick and thin. It pushes me and the team to go on and do well for the people who support us, without them we’re nothing.
Dylan Hartley and Chris Ashton in the England Saxons…
Yeah, full credit to them for working hard and achieving that. They’re very good and the potential is massive, but they have to keep their heads and keep honest because hiccups are always just around the corner.
Is it even more impressive as they’re in National One?
Yeah definitely, people think that if you’re in division one you don’t get looked at for higher honours, but this proves it just comes down to the individual. If you work hard enough there’s always going to be scouts around looking for talent.
How’s Carlos Spencer been getting on?
He’s got on with job. There was a lot of talk about what could’ve happened to him before the season, but full credit he’s shown what character he has. He’s been willing to fight to get us back to where we want to be – he’s super fit, a hard worker and has talents others players don’t have.
What happens if you don’t go unbeaten this term?
Ahhh mate, it would be very, very disappointing. It was one of our big targets to go unbeaten so that we could test ourselves mentally and physically and prove we’re ready to go on to greater things in the Premiership.
And your future? Happy at Saints?
It’s been my home away from home for the last five and a half seasons and it’s been a massive part of my life – hopefully there’s a few more years to come too.
