Title favourites Harpole suffered a shock 3-2 defeat to promoted Corby DGL Locos.

Chris Caswell (2)and Alan Campbell got the goals to secure Locos their first league win of the season.

Gary Purton and Daniel Surridge hit back in vain for the reigning champions.

Roade made it two wins from three with a comfortable 3-0 success over Corby S&L Khalsa. Zach Pugh-Brooks (2) and Andrew Watts were the men on target.

Ross Arundell and Andy Seaton both netted to earn James King Blisworth a 2-2 draw with Weldon United.

Paul Simpson and Ben Smith scored in either half for Weldon.

The point was enough for Blisworth to replace Harpole at the top of the table.

Lee Bradley scored for Milton in their 1-1 draw against Kettering Nomads, while the points were also shared in a 1-1 draw between Moulton and Brixworth All Saints.

Stef Morris came off the bench to score twice in Earls Barton’s 4-0 win over Welford Victoria. Adam Bridgeford and Nathan James hit singles.

Division One

Heyford Athletic suffered their third consecutive league defeat as they went down 5-3 at Medbourne.

Harleigh East, Gentran Shahollaric and Darren Kahanall scored in vain for the visitors.

Leo Paul got the only goal of the game as Wootton St George lost 1-0 at home to Corby Eagles.

Division Two

A hat-trick from Sam Dengel ensured Daventry Drayton Grange maintained their 100 per cent record with a 3-1 win over Great Doddington.

West Haddon Albion are still chasing their first win following a 2-2 draw with FC Higham. Patrick Franks and Thomas Martin were on target for Higham. James Maloy’s strike couldn’t prevent Grange Park Rovers from a 2-1 home reverse to Corby Ravens.

Goals from Shane Roberts (2), Patrick O’Brien and Mark Rudge ensured SPA comfortably saw off Kettering Park Rovers 4-1 at Wootton Hall.

Division Three

Kislingbury made it two league wins from two with a 2-0 success at Kettering Ise Lodge. Paulo Junior Demacedo and James Lewis got the goals.

Northampton Obelisk recorded their first win in style as Corby Kingswood were swept aside 3-0. Alex O’Grady (2) and Charlie Cox netted.

Reserve Premier Division

Two goals from Aaron Dickens and another from Aaron Blundell earned Moulton a 3-2 win at Brixworth All Saints.

Chris Martin and Alasdair Duncan hit back for beaten Brixworth.

Harpole picked up a point in a 2-2 draw at Corby DGL Locos. Sam Lavelle and Logan Macleod netted for the visitors.

Milton had an afternoon to forget as they were hammered 6-0 at league leaders Stanion.

Reserve Division One

Leaders Earls Barton were held to a 2-2 draw by Medbourne. Anthony Abbott and Leon Gavin scored for Barton.

Reserve Division Two

Jonathan Tiley hit two for Bugbrooke B in a 3-1 triumph over Gretton.

Northamptonshire Fire and Rescue Service will not attend any automatic fire alarms at non-domestic and commercial premises during a planned strike next week.

Owners and occupiers are being encouraged to check their risk assessments ahead of the strike, which is taking place on Wednesday, September 25, from midday to 4pm.

While industrial action is taking place, the fire service says it will only attend confirmed property fires and other life risks, such as road traffic collisions.

A spokesman said; “This is to ensure that resources remain available to those in the community who are in need of emergency response.

“This is a testing time for UK Fire and Rescue Services and every precaution is being taken to ensure disruption is kept to a minimum.

“Contingency planning has been under way for several months to ensure the service can continue to be able to respond to emergencies.”

Guidance to help mitigate the chances of a fire starting and reduce the risk to employees is available online.

Old Northamptonians scored four first-half tries as they swept aside Ilkeston 29-3 at Billing Road on Saturday.

Ilkeston kicked off playing down the Billing Road slope and had an early chance from a lineout close to the ONs line.

When the drive was stopped and the ball moved across field, Dan Napier managed to gain possession and a penalty relieved the pressure.

For the next 10 minutes, neither side was able to impose themselves on the game, most of the play being around the half way line,until a break by Richard Blank and his kick ahead forced a five-metre scrum for the ONs.

The ball was won, quickly moved to left wing Rhys Evans and although he was forced into touch just short the Ilkeston throw in went awry, Ash Fullthorpe pouncing to touch down.

Matt Love converted but immediately after the restart the ONs were penalised and Joel Haigh landed the kick.

A strong run Lewis Taylor was halted by a superb covering tackle from Sam Howes in the shadow of the clubhouse and when the ONs won possession at the breakdown Love fed Evans who made ground to halfway.

The support was on hand and swift interpassing continued the attack until Ilkeston infringed and Love put the resulting kick into touch.

Despite the visitors winning a scrum at the lineout, they were again penalised and this time the catch and drive was successful, Napier going over.

Evans was again involved in the third try, his inside pass finding Alex Crofts who made further inroads before play was switched across field and Blank finished in the right corner.

Love converted from wide out and on the stroke of half-time the ONs added a fourth.

Captain for the day Matt Mills powered through the middle finding Phil Beaumont in support and when he was stopped the ball was quickly recycled and George Faulkner went over to take the score to 24-3.

Ilkeston started the second half determined to deny ONs possession.

Eventually a misdirected kick was collected by Blank, taken on by the pack up the right touchline and released to the backs, who spread the play across field for Evans to touch down in the opposite corner to complete the scoring.

The ONs IIs were beaten 35-15 at Bedford Athletic while the IIIs beat Stamford IIs 29-19 with tries from Noel Gaze, Adam Haley, Rick Ansell, Mark Turner and John West. Ally Wood added two conversions.

Team spirit the key as Scouts win at Harborough

Old Scouts showed superb team spirit as they secured a rare 26-16 victory at Market Harborough. Both sides fielded a number of new young players and the first 15 minutes were evenly contested until Scouts broke clear.

The home defence were eventually drawn across the field which resulted in space out wide and a great kick pass from stand off Adam Frost was collected by Arron Ashmore who touched down in the corner. Harborough notched a penalty on the half hour after Scouts had given away a penalty but the visitors showed strength in attack to keep pressure in the hosts half.

Having lost possession when a score was on the cards the long clearance kick was fielded on the half way line by 17-year-old full-back Conor Bullivant on his league debut. Bullivant made several metres before launching a neat chip along the line and had the skill to follow up and re-gather to touch down. Frost’s conversion went the same way as his previous attempt and swept across the front of the posts. Scouts were then stunned by a try from Harborough with a swift attack and some good passing. The conversion was missed, but the home side then took the lead with a penalty within 10 minutes of the second half starting.

Pressure from Scouts began to pay dividends and two Frost penalties put them back into the lead although it only lasted for 10 minutes as Harborough bulldozed their way over from a scrum to make it 16-16. Frost’s third penalty of the day appeared to have won the game although Harborough kept going until the end.

Danger threatened Scouts defence with two minutes to go and a scrambling defence managed to only clear the ball for a lineout a few metres from their line.

Scouts’ forwards forced the jumper to slap the ball down and young winger Conor Jeffcoate, also on debut, had the courage to steal the bouncing ball from the host scrum-half’s reaches and make ground towards his 22.

The ball was quickly switched to Frost, who hoofed the ball well into the opposite half where the chasers then forced Harborough to concede a lineout close to their line.

Scouts’ forwardswere not intimidated and took the ball well and as they drove for the line prop Emilio Giron-Walsh burrowed over. Frost converted off the upright and the whistle blew for time.

A rewarding away win for Scouts and they now take on Newbold for the first time in the league this Saturday.

The club is also celebrating 50 years at Rushmere Road where all ex-players are invited to show their support.

Flawless Falvey inspires Towcestrians

Towcestrians made it two wins from two in South West One East with a 23-6 success against Grove.

Within the first four minutes the two teams were level through two penalties, Falvey for Towcester and Grove’s 
Sevier both slotting their kicks.

It took a further 20 minutes for Tows to then split Grove’s defence. Scrum-half Gus Hopewell breaking blind to cleverly find Falvey who bustled his way over the line wide out, he then added the conversion from the touch line.

The two 10s continued their battle as the exchanged further penalties for Tows to be leading 13-6 at the break.

In an onerous second half Tows failed to capitalise on some great opportunities that they had created to leave the game in the balance, both defences were cancelling each other out.

A Falvey penalty created a bit of leeway between the sides as Tows looked to put a marker on the game. The pressure paid off as a hard run from Martyn Harvey caused the defence to fragment and let him cross the line. Another conversion tipped off a fine kicking display from Falvey.

Tows’ IIs thrashed Oundle IIs 59-18, while the colts team beat Aylesbury colts 27-5.

Bad start as Own are beaten at home

Mens Own made a disappointing start to their league campaign as they slumped to a 29-15 defeat to Bedford Queens at Ashton.

Injury-hit Own were trailing 19-10 at half-time despite a Matt Brace try, conversion and penalty.

Unconverted tries on 60 and 70 minutes put Queens out of sight, but Own did have the final say when a 79th-minute powerful drive for the line by Ian Evans saw him go over.

Brackley off to a winning start

Brackley edged a thrilling contest with Stockwood Park 23-22 to get their season off to a winning start.

They had led 23-7, but the visitors fought back with three unconverted tries to ensure a tense finish.

Northamptonshire all-rounder David Willey’s season may, or may not, be over.

A back problem kept the 23-year-old out of the LV= County Championship match currently taking place against Kent.

That leaves just one more fixture - the final Championship encounter at Worcester next week - to come.

And the County’s head coach David Ripley says they will assess both the club’s situation and Willey’s fitness before deciding whether to call on his services again this summer.

“David has a hotspot in his back,” Ripley said. “It’s a very mild one but, because it is not a muscular problem, it is not recovering as quickly as it might.

“We will have a look at him next week and see how he is.

“But we will also see how we come out of this game (against Kent).

“We wouldn’t ask him to put himself through it if there were only a couple of points needed at Worcester.

“But if he has improved and we still need a big performance then we might look at including him.

“It will be a case of seeing how things develop with him and the team over the next few days or so.”

Thorplands Club 81 put last week’s 7-0 nightmare behind them in a much-improved performance as they held Duston Dynamo to a 2-2 draw.

Goals from Nathan Garafala and Alexander Bisoc accounted for Thorplands’ tally, while Dynamo’s retort came with a Ben Roddis double strike.

Delapre Old Boys eased to a 4-0 victory over Sporting Bat & Wickets with their goals being shared between Ashley Gale, Craig Cooper, Robbie Bushell and James Dean.

In-form Yardley United hit seven goals for the second week on the trot as they hammered Yusen Logistic 7-0.

Paul Dempsey led the scoring for the villagers with a well-taken hat-trick and was well supported by an Ian Dickson brace and one apiece from Daniel Brothers and Nick Harding.

Adam Moore netted the all-important goal in Spartaks’ very closely contested 1-0 triumph over Hardingstone.

Harlequins returned to winning ways after last week’s reversal by beating Falcons United 6-2 courtesy of two goals each for Andy Condon and Dean Self plus singles from Dan Healey and Josh Smith.

Falcons’ two-goal reply came via Richie Collier.

Roll up, roll up – collect a big cheque! It was just another day at the office for town stars Steve and Phil Ringer.

And this time the all-conquering pair didn’t even have to win...

Runner-up spot in Ireland’s 130 peg €30,000 World Pairs Angling champs (with Steve second overall individual for good measure) brought them €7,500, two fancy crystal trophies and a £1,000 Daiwa voucher.

It was hard work much of the time: mostly smaller fish four days out of five in five matches on five venues across the emerald isle’s Lakelands region, with Steve totalling 102.14 kilo (200lb+) and bro Phil 65.06.

But every fish counted, as they had less than two kilos to spare over the next pair. Top spot went to Ireland’s Cathal Hughes and Phil Jackson, who finished some 18 kilos clear.

MK man Michael Buchwalder was fifth individual with 93 kilos.

Tofts was on fire for White Hart Flore as Steve Bull won with 237lb, ahead of Dave Griffiths 218lb and Trevor Griffiths 154-8. The top seven totalled around 1,200lb!

On a ‘less hectic’ part of the same complex Flore & Brockhall’s do went to Jim Tanser, 87-12. Rob Rawlins, finally discovering what carp look like, netted 70-12 and Steve Smith had 47-4.

Sadly, another of angling’s old stalwarts has passed on. But at least Stuart ‘Sid’ Barker went the way so many might choose: very suddenly while fishing his favourite water – Gayton marina.

Having run the marina-based club for at least a score of years Sid, 73, leaves a widow and family.

Bob Reed topped Castle Ashby’s Sunday Grendon do with 12 carp and a slab for 110-8, way ahead of Andy Jones 49-12 and Gary West 48-6. Saturday, Brickyard: Pete Lovell 57-8, Geoff Ringer 40lb, Chris Garrett 28-8. Brickyard, midweek: Jones 44-2, Keith Bishop 32-4, Alan West 27-8.

ROYAL Oak, Waterloo: Jason Shirley 90lb, Glen Maxwell 65-4, Tony Rogers 49-12.

DAVENTRY, Bishops Bowl: Paul Knapman 52-10, Carl Hulley 49-2, Simon Potter 35-4.

COTTON Club, Bill Chatfield memorial, Barby Banks: After 13 years of trying, Gary Chatfield (32lb) finally won his dad’s memory match. Kelvin MacIlhinney 22-4, Dave Haddon 21-7.

FINEDON, Millcotton: Geoff Eade 21-6, John Sumpter 12-12, Dave Roberts 12-4.

OLNEY, Ouse, midweek open: Pete Hawley 9-9, Graham Prince 8-15, Don Wills 7-5.

NENE canal open, Grafton willows: Brian Beard 6-3; Chris Howard 5-9, Andy Pettit 5-7.

LITTLE Harrowden, Oundle Nene: John Edwards 5-5, Mick Dudley 4-9, Pete Thorpe 4-7.

FIXTURES: October 6, Towcester open, Navvi cut, 07915 613862; October 12, charity open for Macmillan Nurses on Nene’s Stoke 
canal, tickets £10 include pre-match breakfast and post-match buffet at the Navigation, Stoke, optional pools, 07803 209099.

Saints forwards coach Dorian West believes the new scrum laws have had a positive effect on the game.

Scrums now have “crouch, bind, set” instructions, with front rows having to bind before engaging and packs cannot push until the referee is happy.

Referees are expected to insist the ball is put in straight and the hookers must hook the ball, something that had been reduced during the past 10 years.

But Saints have certainly not struggled with the new way of doing things, as they have not lost a scrum in either of their opening two Premiership games.

And West said: “We haven’t had too many problems with scrums so far. You want the ref to be on top of things like feeding and bit and bobs that are happening with props.

“I think there’s an opportunity now for referees to take the pressure off themselves by actually managing when things happen in the scrums so they’re happy at all times.

“On the whole, I think it’s gone pretty well so far. I think it’s been positive.”

The pack’s success has propelled Saints to two wins from as many games, beating Exeter 38-11 at Franklin’s Gardens before claiming a 13-6 victory at Harlequins on Friday.

And tighthead prop Tom Mercey, who was handed a start in both matches, feels West’s work behind the scenes has been a key factor.

“With the new rules coming in, Dorian West has been clever with the guys he’s brought in and we’ve got a really good pack,” said Mercey.

“We’ve performed well with the new rule change, the new guys have been fantastic and everyone’s bought into the systems we’re using.

“It’s just subtle changes and a lot of it is understanding the referee you’ve got at the weekend. Like anything, we’re learning the changes, they’re learning the changes.

“It’s been good so far. We’ve been training certain things and it’s been refreshing to have a different angle, a different take on stuff.”

The Cobblers have confirmed the signing of French central defender Mathia Doumbe on a contract until the end of the current campaign.

The 33-year-old is a free agent after leaving Milton Keynes Dons at the end of last season and has been training with the Northampton squad this week.

Doumbe, who was a youth-team player with Paris St-Germain and has also played for Hibernian and Plymouth Argyle, goes straight into the squad for Saturday’s game at Mansfield.

“Mathias is a very experienced defender who has played a lot of games,” said Cobblers boss Aidy Boothroyd.

“It’s taken us a little bit of time to get everything sorted but he is the right one for us and that’s why we’ve waited a little bit of time to get him.”

Doumbe has been allocated squad number 27.

David Willey has signed a new three-year deal to stay with Northamptonshire.

The 23-year-old all-rounder - who had a season left to run on his old contract - has had a remarkable summer in all forms of cricket.

He was a key figure in the club’s Friends Life t20 success - their first silverware for 21 years - and has also been a consistent performer in the push for promotion in the LV= County Championship.

Willey, who was born in Northampton and has come through the club’s age group system, said: “I’m happy to have signed a new three-year contract with Northants.

“The club have made huge improvements in the last 12 months and I hope these continue.

“I’m a local lad and want Northants Cricket to be a successful club and hope to be an important part of the club’s success over the next three years.”

Northamptonshire head coach David Ripley added: “ David is a dynamic player and someone who could add something to any county in the country.

“He’s a Northampton lad who I’ve known since he was nine years old so I am delighted he will be with us for at least the next three years as we continue to look for improvement as a squad.”

This summer the left-arm seamer has taken 43 Championship wickets at an average on 25 while also contributing valuable runs at an average of 33.

However, it was the Twenty20 run that has brought him to national prominence.

He was a key performer throughout a competition that culminated with him scoring a half-century and taking 4-9 – including a hat-trick - in the final.

Willey was recently named as the Northants Cricket Supporters Club’s player of the year for the second season running.

Northamptonshire chief executive David Smith believes securing the services of all-rounder David Willey for three more years sends out a message regarding the club’s direction.

The 23-year-old today put pen to paper on a new deal at Wantage Road and committed his immediate future to the County.

And after a season that has so far seen him take 43 LV= County Championship wickets in a push for promotion, play a key role in securing the club’s first silverware for 21 years and get a call to the England Lions squad, it is a huge boost for Northamptonshire to retain his services.

Smith, for one, is delighted.

“I think this is a real statement of our intent at Northamptonshire,” he said.

“I’m sure there would have been a queue of other clubs trying to sign him but David wants to play his cricket here.

“He’s seen what is happening at the club and he wanted to stay for three more years.

“It’s a statement to other clubs and to all the players of how we are working to move the club forward and how we think there are even better things to come.

“It is also key that after winning a trophy you do what you can to hold on to your better players.

“David definitely falls into that category and we are very pleased he will be staying with us.”

Smith also insists it is not just the obvious benefit of Willey’s talent as a player that makes him such an important member of the Northamptonshire squad.

The chief executive added: “David’s a local lad and he keeps that family tradition at the club going following on from his dad.

“He’s been right through our system so he knows all about what it means to play here.

“And he has made it clear to me right through our discussions that he is a local lad, he enjoys playing here, he wants to keep on playing here and he was keen to stay.

“It is also good for us because he is one of our more marketable players as well.

“And that is on top of his playing ability.

“What he has given us this season has been excellent.

“His performance in that T20 final was outstanding.

“He has been a vital part in an obvious improvement at the club over the last 12 months or so.”

Smith also paid tribute to the role of head coach David Ripley in making Wantage Road a place people want to be.

“Credit has to go to David for the work he has done,” Smith said.

“He has created an environment where people are enjoying their cricket and a dressing-room that people want to be a part of.

“Things like that are key in helping us keep quality players like David Willey.”

Rugby & Northampton AC sprinter Caleb Downes admitted winning the 100m title at the Sainsbury’s 2013 School Games was beyond his wildest expectations as he stood atop the podium in Sheffield.

The 16-year-old held off the challenge of English Schools’ champion Fawwaz Okunola to win in a new legal personal best time of 10.87seconds at the Don Valley Stadium, which is now set to be closed.

The sprinter wasn’t done there and followed that up by helping the Midlands take silver in the 4x100m relay – finishing only 0.01 behind winners the North East.

And, after taking home two medals from the Games, the Moulton School and Science College pupil insists the hard work he had been putting in over the season is finally starting to pay off.

“I am just so ecstatic to have won the gold medal at the School Games. I came in as the underdog and no one expected me to win so I just gave it my all and thankfully it paid off,” said Downes.

“I put in a lot of hard work to get this gold because the School Games is a big competition and it just goes to show that hard work pays off in the end.

“I only wanted a personal best really and I got that but also a gold medal so I couldn’t have asked for anything more. Coming out of the blocks I knew I had an advantage because I always start fast.

“But knowing Ollie Bromby and Fawwaz [Okunola] I needed to keep that going and thankfully I was able to do that.

“I saw Fawwaz coming up on me and he was getting close towards the line but I am just really pleased I managed to hold on for the win.”

This year’s School Games, supported by National Lottery funding from Sport England and delivered by the Youth Sport Trust, saw more 
than 1,600 young athletes compete across 12 different sports.

And Downes, who usually competes over 200m, in which he claimed English Schools silver this year, believes the result was just another tiny step towards his goal of one day turning out for Britain.

“I usually do the 200m and I haven’t actually done a lot of 100m this season so I wasn’t expecting too much from the School Games but I am really happy it went how it did,” he added.

“I am really excited about what the future holds and the aim is to one day wear that Team GB vest but I know I have a lot of hard work between now and then.”

The Sainsbury’s 2013 School Games, which is supported by National Lottery funding from Sport England and delivered by the Youth Sport Trust, was held in venues across Sheffield from 12-15 September 2013. Visit www.2013schoolgames.com for more information

A man who told a housing officer he was going to “smash their head in” after being told he could not stay in his sister’s house, has been fined and ordered to compensate his victim.

Richard Seagrott was staying at the property in Daventry when the officer visited on August 28, and told him an injunction was being put in place to force him to leave.

An argument between the pair ensued, which ended with the housing officer running out of the building as she feared for her safety, Northampton Magistrates Court heard yesterday.

Seagrott, aged 31, of St James Street, Daventry, admitted a charge of using threatening words or behaviour. The court heard he had a “number” of previous convictions, including for drug offences.

Caroline Emmett, prosecuting, said: “A housing officer from ASRA was visiting one of the tenants because there was an unauthorised person at one of the properties. It was this defendant.

“It was explained that an injunction was being sought to stop him staying at that address.”

The court heard Seagrott then threatened the housing officer, saying “I’m going to smash your head in,” at which point the officer made off, and slammed the door behind her.

Miss Emmett said: “She believes if she had not slammed the door behind her, he could have caught up with her. She had genuine fear that he was going to harm her.”

The court was told Seagrott “bitterly regrets” shouting personal abuse, and admitted swearing at the housing officer.

He was fined £35, ordered to pay £85 costs and a £20 victim surcharge, and also ordered to pay £50 compensation to the victim.

Comedian Stewart Lee is set to visit the University of Northampton for a question and answer session, ahead of his gig in the town the same night.

Lee will be appearing at the Maidwell Main Hall, on Avenue Campus, on Saturday, September 28, from 2pm to 4pm.

The appearance is ahead of his Much A-Stew About Nothing show at The Royal & Derngate.

Lee will appear at the School of The Arts to talk with long-standing friend, Dr Richard Canning, subject leader for English and creative writing, about his career in comedy, TV, radio, journalism, fiction, and his new show.

Tickets will be limited and are available on a first come, first served basis from Monday, September 23, from the Avenue Campus Art Shop.

For more information email jo.harris@northampton.ac.uk​

Lee Collins is confident the Cobblers are progressing in the right direction but admits they must eliminate the basic mistakes that are costing them wins.

Town head to Mansfield on Saturday to play a Stags side who are unbeaten in six and confident of celebrating manager Paul Cox’s 100th game in charge with a win.

Northampton have only picked up a single victory this season, and last week sustained a last-minute defeat on their own ground to Exeter City.

But while that was a defeat caused by an absence of cutting edge up front and a frailty in defence, Collins feels there are signs of improvement.

“Stats don’t lie but the performances are improving and we’re a strong bunch of lads here,” he said.

“We have got a lot of good characters in the squad who have been in situations like this one and come through it.

“Against Exeter City we know we conceded two sloppy goals and although the game could have been dead and buried before then, we can’t afford to be making mistakes like that.

“We’ve come to a point where everyone knows what each other is going to do when they get the ball.”

An 81-year-old Northampton remains in a critical condition after a lorry hit the side of his car, trapping him inside.

The Warwickshire & Northamptonshire Air Ambulance (WNAA) flew to the scene in Little Billing at 11.35am yesterday, and found the man’s grey Citroen Picasso had been hit in the driver’s door by a white Scania lorry.

On arrival, the elderly man was still trapped in the car and complaining of chest and back pain.

Air ambulance crews worked with fire crews and ambulance crews to help get him out of the car.

The Derbyshire, Leicestershire & Rutland Air Ambulance (DLRAA) was also called to the scene as they had a doctor on board who could help provide urgent clinical treatment.

They flew the patient to University Hospitals Coventry & Warwickshire where he remains in a critical condition.

Witnesses can call Northamptonshire Police’s collision investigation team on 101 or the Drivewatch Hotline on 0800 174615.

At Mansfield on Saturday, there will be a temptation for the Cobblers to shut up shop and play for a draw.

It will have crossed the mind of manager Aidy Boothroyd and his support staff to go with one striker, pack the midfield and do everything possible to get a point.

Such a policy might be worthwhile - after all, when you’re losing more games than you’re winning, any kind of return is something of a bonus.

And Mansfield are a very good side, who are unbeaten in six and will look at Northampton’s league position and see the game as a perfect opportunity to extend that run to seven.

They play a 3-5-2 formation and are a team packed with power and presence.

They will be provide opposition for the Cobblers that can comfortably be classified as ‘stern’.

But Northampton have to stick to their attacking principles; play two up front, get it to Chris Hackett and get the ball in the box.

Let’s be honest, last week’s defeat to Exeter City was a burglary of a match in which the Cobblers did little wrong in creating opportunities, but failed to take them and then committed basic errors in defence.

Mansfield, as talented as they are, are below Exeter in the league table and so there should be cause for encouragement for the visiting players that attacking is the way forward.

It could all go horribly wrong, of course, but the team has to at least attempt to be a force in the game.

Otherwise the steps forward that have been taken in the past couple of games will be followed by a step backwards.

If things stay true to form, a trip to Gloucester on Saturday should be perfect for Saints.

Not because the Cherry and Whites have lost their opening two games - in fact that can be viewed as a negative as Nigel Davies’ men will be even more fired up this time round.

Not because Saints have enjoyed superb successes on the opening two weekends of the season.

But because Jim Mallinder’s men love a challenge.

They regularly exit the lion’s den unscathed, letting out a throaty roar of intent in the process.

As forwards coach Dorian West pointed out earlier this week, Kingsholm will be an intimidating environment for the men in green, black and gold this week.

Saints head west with a bounty on their heads. They’re there to be shot at after all the pre and early-season hype.

Gloucester will want this.

They will crave a win in front of their own fans after letting them down against Sale on the opening day of the campaign.

But, as we’ve found out during the past season and a bit, Saints work best with their backs to the wall.

Last season, it was the ‘why not us?’ mentality that motivated the team, this time it’s the ‘it should be us’ mindset.

There is a belief among the players that they can go to the toughest of places, in front of the loudest of fans and walk away with points under their belt.

Nine of the 13 league away games since the start of the previous Premiership campaign have been won.

Only Leicester, Saracens, Harlequins and, in what was a miscellaneous result, London Irish have hosted Saints and come away with successes.

The siege mentality that has been fostered on the road, as shown in the stunning victory against Saracens in the Premiership play-off semi-final in May, lives on.

It was in evidence in the gritty win against Quins last Friday, as Saints again demostrated their burgeoning belief that they can beat anyone.

Now they need to show it against a Gloucester side they turned in one of their best performances against last season.

The opening-day win at Kingsholm saw Saints play some Champagne rugby before things started to turn a little sour late on.

Nevertheless, the game was won and Mallinder went on to lead his men to five successive victories at the start of the campaign.

A similar beginning would be hugely welcome this time round, especially when you consider three of the first five games are at Quins, Gloucester and Leicester.

As ever, though, Saints will show no fear.

Aidy Boothroyd believes his Cobblers squad could not wish for a better assignment this weekend than a difficult away game at Mansfield Town.

Town head to Field Mill in poor form in terms of results - they have only won once this season - but showing signs of improvement.

They were unfortunate to lose at home to Exeter City last Saturday but while they were recording that loss, Mansfield were extending their unbeaten run to six matches.

Despite the odds being against a Northampton win, Boothroyd is in bullish mood ahead of the game and is confident his players can deal with the home side’s substantial physical threat.

“They’ve got a lot of momentum from their promotion and they are a big, strong team,” said the Town boss.

“They are a physical outfit who will cause us a lot of problems.

“But I said to the players in training this week ‘what better game could you wish for at this moment?’

“We’re away from home and we’re going to go there knowing we’ll get roughed up.

“We’ve got to stand up and deal with it.

“Anything that comes in we have to make sure we defend it resolutely and we also have to make sure we cause them some problems as well and show them what we’ve got in our armoury.”

Mansfield manager Paul Cox celebrates his 100th game in charge of the club at the weekend and will be keen to cap that landmark with a win.

He will be without Chris Clements, who is facing two to four months on the sidelines after injuring his medial ligaments in the 2-1 win at York City.

They could also be without central defender Martin Riley who was shown a red card in the same match.

But whichever side Cox selects, Boothroyd knows his players will be in for a difficult afternoon.

“I’m really excited about this game because it will give me the opportunity to look at the players under a microscope,” he said.

“It is going to be about focus and it is going to be a tough game, there is no doubt about that.”

Aidy Boothroyd has praised Roy O’Donovan for his willingess to play out of position and says it highlights the Cobblers forward’s sense of teamwork.

O’Donovan was moved from centre-forward to left wing to accommodate Clive Platt and Jacob Blyth up front for the game against Exeter City last week.

Given how well that strike combination worked, the Irishman is likely to find himself out on the left at Mansfield Town this afternoon (Sat, ko 3pm).

Although he would be happier as an out-and-out striker, Boothroyd said O’Donovan didn’t even blink when he was asked to play out wide, an attitude that is warmly welcomed by the manager.

“I brought Roy here because he’s an off-the-shoulder player, he wants to get in behind and he wants to be running towards the opposition’s goal,” said Boothroyd.

“The opportunities that he’s had in front of goal, by his own high standards, he will feel he should have made more of.

“But he’s a very willing worker, a good team player and the fact that he goes and plays on the left wing without even blinking shows you that.

“That’s the sort of guy that he is.”

You can keep up to date with events at Field Mill this afternoon by following @chronsport on Twitter, the Saturday Sports Centre is live from 2pm.

Tom Wood says he is not thinking about becoming England captain on a full-time basis.

Instead, the Saints star, 26, believes leading the Red Rose is a way of life, preferring to focus on his conduct for his club before considering his role in this year’s autumn international series.

Wood, who skippered England to a 2-0 Test series win over Argentina in the summer, has been tipped to take over from last season’s captain Chris Robshaw.

But the 20-cap flanker said: “Leading England’s one of the biggest moments of my life and obviously getting the win as well out in Argentina.

“We’ve got a lot of strong candidates for captaincy.

“It’s not something I’m consciously aiming for.

“It’s a way of life. You’ve got to live it. If you’re acting like a leader, if you’re setting a good example those things will come to you.

“That’s what I concentrate on doing at Saints.

“I do my best for the team, show my experience when I can and if that leads me to the England captaincy role I’ll do my absolute best in that role.

“But Chris Robshaw’s playing well.

He’s rested, he’s on good form and there’s loads of other candidates in that team as well.”