Rugby Comment: Ending a great season with nothing is just unthinkable
WE NEED to use the frustration of losing last week as motivation to win the Premiership final tomorrow.
Defeat in the Heineken Cup final was very disappointing, there is no getting away from that. But you can’t sit around moping, because then we might come away with nothing from a very good year.
To end the season empty-handed would be an extreme disappointment – no-one wants that because we have played so well throughout.
We were straight back into training on Monday which is the best possible way, otherwise you have too much time to dwell on what happened in Cardiff, going over what might have been. The great thing about rugby is there is always another game on the horizon to grab your full attention.
PRIDE
So it’s been business as usual this week, making sure we prepare well for Northampton Saints. They’re a top side, that we have played four times already this season in the LV=Cup and Premiership, though only won once.
But I don’t think those games between us will have any bearing on tomorrow. We had a good game at Allianz Park, which we won and learnt a bit about us in defeat at Franklins Gardens. But this is a one off match, a Premiership final, and we have just got to do the basics well, and not start badly.
Saints pride themselves on their physicality, but so do we and I think it is great that the top two in the Premiership are in the final.
We might have finished above them, but I don’t think it’s easy to call a clear favourite. We know how the play-off system works and we have to make the most of the chance we’ve got to end the season as champions.
Alex Goode is an England and Saracens full-back