Saints academy in the limelight
Mark Hopley hopes some of the young talent on show at Franklin's Gardens tonight can form the core of a Northampton Saints side in years to come.
The 28-year-old has decided to move into coaching after seeing his playing days finish at the end of last season.
And the new academy coach will be leading a young Saints squad in the final leg of the inaugural JP Morgan Asset Management Premiership Sevens tonight.
Saints are aiming to join Sale, Harlequins, Saracens and Newcastle in next month's grand final at Bath.
With no club risking their big names in the middle of pre-season training, eight players from Saints' senior academy make up tonight's squad, with four guest players, including John Brake, James Rodwell and Tom Powell from the England Sevens squad.
Hopley is hoping youngsters like Ben Nutley, Jamie Elliott and Sam Farmer can use tonight's experience as a springboard to a bright future at the club.
Hopley said: "If you look at any successful side it has a good core to it.
"Northampton is a fantastic rugby town and a great place to play. What we want is as many homegrown local talent in that first team as possible.
"You look at Courtney (Lawes) and Digger (Paul Diggin) who are the only players who have been through the academy in the first-team squad now.
"That is massive for the fans. They love it and it is great for us as a club.
"We want to keep producing good young players who want to play for Northampton, are embedded in the culture and go on to better things."
With the youngsters only two weeks into pre-season training after finishing their A levels, preparation time has been limited.
But Hopley is looking to see how they cope in front of an expected crowd of 5,000 and the ESPN cameras.
"They have been working hard on their fitness and, hopefully, they can put that into practice tonight," said Hopley.
"In terms of the guys being exposed to a big crowd, it will be fantastic for them, it is a big learning experience.
"It is about different pressures and seeing how they respond to that."
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Monday 13 February 2012
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