Saints bid to start home campaign on a high note as they square up to Barbarians

Only Leicester Tigers, Munster and La Rochelle managed to conquer cinch Stadium at Franklin's Gardens.

Saints won 11 of their 14 home matches in all competitions, flooring some huge sides.

And the message this week is very much that the black, green and gold want to do it all again.

They make their long-awaited return to the Gardens for an exhibition game against the Barbarians on Saturday (kick-off 2pm).

And it is an occasion that boss Phil Dowson and his players are relishing.

Dowson said: "Generally the guys who come into the Academy came here as youngsters watching games here, but guys who we've recruited from elsewhere say how much they enjoy playing at the Gardens, and what a great place it is to play rugby.

"We get big crowds, a great pitch, a town that's really knowledgeable about the game and it makes a massive difference for guys to come here and play week in, week out.

"We had a good record at home last year in the league, and I still feel we should have got a result against Munster and we were very good in the first half against La Rochelle.

"We obviously want to stretch those games to be 80 minutes but at home, we've been very good, and a lot of that's down to the crowd and how important that support is to us.

"This weekend is our first chance to play here again and we've got a young group going out, some of them making their debuts in a Saints shirt, and that's incredibly exciting.

"I hope the fans give them the energy, the lads feed off the energy and we start that relationship with a bang."