 | |||
| Full name | Northampton Rugby Football Club | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Union | East Midlands RFU | ||
| Nickname(s) | Saints, Jimmies[1] | ||
| Founded | 1880 | ||
| Location | Northampton, England | ||
| Region | Northamptonshire | ||
| Ground(s) | cinch stadium at Franklin's Gardens (Capacity: 15,249[2]) | ||
| Chairman | John White | ||
| CEO | Julia Chapman | ||
| Director of Rugby | Phil Dowson | ||
| Captain(s) | George Furbank | ||
| Most appearances | Ron Jacobs (470) | ||
| Top scorer | Paul Grayson (2,786)[3] | ||
| Most tries | Teddy Cook (219) | ||
| League(s) | Premiership Rugby | ||
| 2023–24 | 1st (Champions) | ||
| |||
| Official website | |||
| www | |||
Northampton Saints (officially Northampton Rugby Football Club) are a professional rugby union club from Northampton, England. They play in Premiership Rugby, England's top division of rugby.
They were formed in 1880 as "Northampton St. James", which gave them the nickname Saints from the 1880s. The team play their home games at Franklin's Gardens, in the west of the town, which has a capacity of 15,250 and play in black, green, and gold colours.
At the conclusion of the 2023–24 Premiership Rugby season, Saints finished first, which entitled them to compete in the 2024–25 European Rugby Champions Cup. The current director of rugby is Phil Dowson, who was promoted to director of rugby in the summer of 2022.[4]
Northampton has won seven major titles. They were European Champions in 2000, English Champions in 2014 and Premiership Champions in 2023–24. They have also won the secondary European Rugby Challenge Cup twice, in 2009 and 2014, the Anglo-Welsh Cup in 2010, and, most recently, the inaugural Premiership Rugby Cup in 2019. They have also won the Second Division title three times; in 1990, 1996 and 2008.
Their biggest rivals are Leicester Tigers. The East Midlands Derby is one of the fiercest rivalries in English rugby union.[5][6]
- ^ "Background". Northampton Saints Foundation. Archived from the original on 25 October 2020. Retrieved 12 December 2023.
- ^ "Franklins Gardens, Northampton Saints Stadium". Archived from the original on 7 June 2023. Retrieved 5 July 2023.
- ^ "Club records". Northampton Saints. Archived from the original on 9 June 2013. Retrieved 16 May 2013.
- ^ "Phil Dowson to succeed Chris Boyd as Northampton Saints director of rugby at end of season". Sky Sports. 12 January 2022. Retrieved 24 July 2022.
- ^ "Northampton Saints v Leicester Tigers, Premiership semi-final: Gloves off for rugby's biggest grudge match". The Daily Telegraph. 15 May 2014. Archived from the original on 12 January 2022. Retrieved 5 January 2017.
- ^ "The 12 biggest rugby rivalries on the planet". Wales Online. 11 March 2016. Retrieved 5 January 2017.