'Absolute competitor' James puts pen to paper on new contract at Saints

James, who first arrived at cinch Stadium at Franklin’s Gardens in the summer of 2020, has gone from strength to strength since first donning the black, green and gold jersey.

The 30-year-old followed an unconventional route into the Gallagher Premiership; graduating from Loughborough University while featuring for Loughborough Students in National One and earning himself a call up to England Students in 2016, before enjoying a spell at Bedford Blues and joining Championship rivals Doncaster Knights.

James quickly established himself as Doncaster’s first-choice scrum-half – finishing the 2018/19 season as the Knights’ top-scorer and adding eight tries in 18 appearances to his tally in 2019/20, before arriving in Northampton when rugby restarted after the Covid-19 pandemic.

James debuted for Saints against London Irish in 2020 and scored his first try during his Heineken Champions Cup debut against Leinster in Dublin.

He has now made 69 appearances to date in his five seasons at the club.

And Saints boss Dowson said: “TJ is a fantastic example of our recruitment strategy outside of the Academy working so well.

“Alongside the likes of Sam Graham and Robbie Smith, these are guys who came in at Saints looking for an opportunity to show what they are capable of.

“He’s one of the guys you really trust because he gets on with his work and he relishes pushing himself, working on his game, and quietly getting better.

“Tom’s got a wand of a left foot, and his ability to put the ball over the heads of wingers out of hand or by box kicking, as well as what he does to get the ball up and get our game moving, is so valuable for us.

“He’s also such a tenacious, physical and tough player who’s an absolute competitor every time he steps onto the pitch – we love him for that.

"He’s strong and fast which works both in defence and in attack, especially around those fringes he gets us going forward.

“So, we’re delighted he’s so excited to continue here with us and we look forward to seeing what’s to come from TJ.”