BEN NUTLEY feels the fact there are eight Saints currently representing England in South Africa shows just how strong the setup at Franklin’s Gardens now is.
Northampton have six men in the senior squad involved in the Test series and two more in the Under 20 party taking part in the IRB Junior World Championships.
Dylan Hartley, Ben Foden, Lee Dickson, Phil Dowson, Paul Doran-Jones and Chris Ashton are with the seniors, with Nutley and young wing Jamie Elliott in the Under 20 squad.
And Saints would have even more players attempting to slay the Springboks this summer had it not been for injuries to Tom Wood and Courtney Lawes and the suspension of Calum Clark.
Nutley has been making his mark for the Under 20 side and is loving the Saints’ influence on the England picture.
“It shows the talent we have at the club,” said the 20-year-old flanker. “Woody missed out with injury and other players like Calum with suspension.
“We’ve got a good group of internationals at the club and hopefully we’ll continue that with our guys at age groups coming through and the new guys coming in. The guys that are there need to keep performing.”
England Under 20 were unable to make the IRB Junior World Championship semi-finals for the first time since the tournament’s inception in 2008.
But Nutley revealed they weren’t short of inspiration as they received pre-match good luck messages from some of the senior stars, including Saracens-bound wing Ashton.
He explained: “A few of the boys sent some videos over to the lads – Stuart Lancaster, Ashy (Chris Ashton) said good luck for the tournament and that they’d be watching. They’re all here for us so that’s obviously nice.
“The lads from the RFU have come down and said how proud they are of us and how we’re a credit to the sport.
“We wish the senior boys well for their next game against South Africa on Saturday.”