Wilson calls for more fight from Saints

Northampton were surprisingly subdued at Sandy Park last Saturday, falling to a 28-19 LV= Cup defeat against Exeter.

It left their hopes of progression in the domestic cup competition in tatters, meaning they now only have the Premiership to worry about.

And Wilson knows a win against the Cherry and Whites is essential as fifth-placed Saints aim to keep their play-off hopes alive.

“We were not happy with that performance (at Exeter) at all so it was pretty sombre on the bus on the way home,” he said.

“But we’re looking forward to the Premiership. We’ve got to get up for it. We’ve got Gloucester at home and we’ve got to make sure we make up for what we put out there last Saturday.”

Saints will need the leaders in their squad to rally round for the Gloucester scrap on Saturday.

Wilson feels there are plenty of inspirational figures among the Gardens group and says they stood up to be counted when the chips were down last weekend.

“We’ve got a lot of leaders in the team, there are a lot of senior players in the squad, so everyone does have input,” he said.

“Fodes (Ben Foden, who captained Saints for the first time, at Exeter) is there definitely amongst it. He had real chat on Saturday, which was really positive, so it’s good to have.

“They (Lee Dickson and Phil Dowson) were always talking so as soon as they arrived on the pitch it was loud and exactly what they expect from those two.

“You’ve got a lot of senior players in the team, with Christian Day back and Tommy May coming on. Those guys have been around the block and they bring lots of chat, which is good to have.”