Saints boss Mallinder faces difficult decisions ahead of Sandy Park final

The director of rugby has rotated players throughout the tournament, giving youngsters and men on the fringe of the first team a chance to shine.

He has been able to rest stars, knowing others can do the job, which was in evidence on Saturday as the likes of James Wilson and Jamie Elliott were left out of the matchday squad.

Saints still managed to claim an impressive 26-7 success against Saracens and have won all five of their games on the way to this weekend’s silverware shoot-out against Exeter Chiefs.

Mallinder now faces more tough choices as he bids to get the balance right once again, but he’s remaining relaxed.

“It always is difficult,” he said. “We’ve given the lads a few days off. They’re having Sunday, Monday, Tuesday off and I think they’ve deserved that.

“The final is on Sunday so we’ve given them some rest. Hopefully they went out on Saturday and enjoyed themselves because you’ve always got to enjoy your wins.

“We’ll come back in on Wednesday and see where we are.”

Saints have now won 13 games in succession and have fostered a never-say-die spirit at Franklin’s Gardens.

It is a healthy sitautation for the coaches to be in, and Mallinder is revelling in his side’s impressive recent run.

“It’s a nice place to be, winning games,” he said. “Momentum is important and it gives you belief.

“The lads have got that at the moment, they know how to win games.

“We were under the cosh at times against Saracens, so it was brilliant to see the players come out and believe they could win, and ultimately do that.”