Last Sunday an article appeared on the Wales Online website questioning why Wales and Scarlets wing George North would want to join Saints.
The author, who has clearly never taken in a play at the Derngate Theatre or bathed in the sun at Abington Park, hit out at Northampton and its premier rugby club’s style of play.
The stand-out paragraph in the piece read: “Northampton is up there alongside Luton and Milton Keynes as one of the UK’s nothing towns and more importantly their style is anti-rugby.”
But before North reaches a verdict on whether he will move to Saints this summer, it would only be fair to outline the case for the defence.
To address the first point: The state of the town centre is surely of no concern to a prospective player.
And even if it is, Ben Foden, Dylan Hartley, Tom Wood, top players, seem to manage to live in the area without complaining about tripping over beer cans and cigarette packets on a daily basis.
Northampton is a town that relishes its rugby.
The Saints get crowds of more than 12,000 most weeks, some of the best figures in England, and Franklin’s Gardens is a proper rugby ground.
It’s a club with tradition at its heart and one that looks after its players.
If North were to join the talent drain and jet off to France, as the Wales Online article suggest as a preferable alternative to moving to the ‘nothing town’, would he not just be a number?
Should he join a club like Racing Metro, would his arrival be heralded?
Or would he just be another top player vying for a place among a star-studded line-up.
If North is a homely lad, Northampton is within driving distance of Llanelli and with his family connections in the area – his sister lives in Harpole - it wouldn’t take him long to settle in.
His girlfriend, Britain’s new cycling queen Becky James, trains at the National Training Cycling Centre in Manchester, so he would only have to shoot up the motorway to see her.
And Northampton even has a Nando’s, which North is known to be a big fan of.
If he needs any proof of quality, he need only give Cobblers striker Adebayo Akinfenwa a call.
So that’s the location sorted, now onto the real issue: The rugby.
Suggestions that Saints are anti-rugby are intriguing.
Just a couple of years ago they were most people’s favourite second team.
Chris Ashton and Ben Foden were lighting up Europe with a style of rugby which drew praise from numerous pundits.
They were the up-and-coming stars of English rugby, excelling in the nation’s Six Nations opening-day win at Wales in 2011.
Ashton got two tries that day and though he’s now lacking in confidence and getting criticised left, right and centre, the fact remains he was one of Europe’s best wingers during his time at Saints.
The club has always had a strong pack, thanks to Dorian West’s shrewd tuition, and they may have been guilty of turning to it too often in recent times, but they are now making moves to alter that.
The capture of Ospreys scrum-half Kahn Fotuali’i is a signal of intent and should North choose to join him, the backs division with be full of flair.
George Pisi and Foden are bursting with ingenuity and Saints should be more than capable of allying strength with skill next season.
Northampton possess real ambition and though the Welsh are unhappy at losing many of their national treasures, you can see why some will move on.
During the past three seasons only one Welsh team – Cardiff Blues – has reached the last eight of the Heineken Cup, and they lost to 34-3 to Leinster.
This season, no side from the principality has made the quarter-finals.
Yet, three English teams – Harlequins, Saracens and Leicester - remain in with a shot at glory.
The Saints can re-establish themselves among the elite next season and North’s signing would go some way in helping them do that.
So you have to agree, Northampton’s not all bad, is it, George?