The Northampton Saints Virtual Pub - Open and Taking Orders

This week Franklin’s Gardens has been a hive of activity, with our players finally moving to Stage 1 of returning to training on Monday. They have been back on site completing individual conditioning sessions (with strict social distancing maintained at all times), meaning the first small steps towards a targeted resumption date of August 15 for the Gallagher Premiership have now been taken!

But make no mistake; our players have had their heads down throughout this lockdown period to not only keep fit but also to recover from injuries, manage their mental health, prepare themselves for life after rugby and maintain the close bond between the whole squad – not to mention home schooling!

We were lucky enough last week to welcome club captain Alex Waller, Wales international Dan Biggar, and England international Tom Wood onto our second Webinar via video conferencing platform Zoom. The boys enjoyed a few beers with host Graham McKechnie (BBC Radio Northampton’s sports editor) and just over 100 of our valued partners, box holders, hospitality guests, local influences and even some prospective clients.

It was fascinating to hear how Alex, Dan and Tom have negotiated the lockdown, and how confident all three are that Saints will emerge as a stronger group on the other side. It’s not been easy with the goalposts being moved so often, but our players are focusing only on the controllables – a good lesson for all of us at the moment!

Huge thanks must go to our friends at Carlsberg for supporting this event, and supplying the boys with some of their fantastic beers to get the conversation flowing.