Lee Dickson believes raw desire can win the day for Saints when they clash with rivals Saracens this afternoon (ko 3pm).
The scrum-half sees the game at Franklin’s Gardens as a battle of spirit, with not too much to separate the two sides, who have both won six of their eight games in all competitions this season.
“It’s definitely a very hard game,” said the England man. “You’ve got to be big up front, your set-piece has got to be spot on and you’ve got to have massive defence.
“They come all guns blazing and we’ve got to make sure our defence is full on.
“In attack we’ve got to be smart, making sure our boys get round the corner and work hard.
“It all comes down to desire and who wants it more and at home, in front of a packed stadium we’re going to go all guns blazing and be right up for it on Saturday.”
Saints currently sit top of the Aviva Premiership, but Saracens are just two points behind in fourth, and Dickson recognises how significant a victory could be.
He said: “It’s very important, but it’s very important to win every game.
“If you beat a team in the top four you open up a gap there but we know it’s going to be hard, it’s going to be tight and we know we need to do our basics right and make sure we get on the front foot.”
Saracens go into the game as one of the form teams in the country, having impressed in their two Heineken Cup games to date as they hammered Edinbrugh 45-0 and Racing Club Metro 30-13.
But Dickson says Saints can be a match for them, particularly on home soil.
“Having Sarries come here, it’s always going to be a challenging game,” said Dickson, who was this week named in the England squad for the autumn internationals.
“They’re playing some really good rugby but so are we.
“At home in front of our own fans, which we really look forward to, it should be a very good game of rugby and hopefully we can get on top.”
Former Saints winger Chris Ashton returns to the Gardens for the first time since his summer move, but Dickson didn’t single out his own team-mate, instead focusing on both teams’ strength in depth.
“We’ve watched the video and I know a few of their players in the backline and their forwards and they are very good players,” said Dickson.
“But we’ve got a very good backline out there as well, we’ve got world class players across our backline, and it’s going to be a really good game.
“I’m really looking forward to it.”
 |  |