Jim Mallinder tied George Pisi and Vasily Artemyev to new contracts at Saints – then claimed the club can achieve a ‘legacy of success’.
Centre Pisi, who joined from Clermont Auvergne last summer, is now a key man at Northampton, having scooped the players’ and supporters’ player of the season award in his first campaign at the club.
And Russian rocket Artemyev has also established himself as a first-team regular following his switch from VVA-Podmoskovye.
Mallinder has been delighted with the emergence of the duo, and he believes Saints now have the necessary ingredients in place to conjure up a recipe of success.
“George and Vasily have shown already that they have the ability to contribute to a successful future at Franklin’s Gardens,” said the Saints boss.
“George had a superb first season and has carried that on in the current campaign.
“Vasily has shown regularly that he has the talent to shine in the Premiership and although he knows that he can still add things to his game he is eager to learn and works with all of the coaches.
“We have a squad which includes England players on long-term contracts, already this year some of our best senior academy youngsters have put pen to paper, and with George and Vasily both having plenty more years in front of them we believe that the pieces are in place for a legacy of success at the Saints.”
Artemyev, who dropped to the bench for last weekend’s 16-12 defeat to Leicester Tigers, knows he has plenty to work on at Saints.
But the wing is confident he in in the right environment to allow him to flourish and feels the club has great potential.
“It wasn’t a hard decision to make and I’m really happy to stay at the club,” said the 25-year-old.
“It’s been a massive learning curve for me as a player and I think that I still have a long way to go to be at the top of my game, but I’m enjoying my rugby, which is important for me.
“The whole town has been good and the people have been friendly, which has been important for myself and my partner to settle.
“It’s a good squad and a good place to come into work, but while everyone says that there is a lot of potential here at the Saints we know that we have to keep on working. Having said that, there’s a lot more in the tank for all of us.”
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