Director of Rugby Alan Solomons spoke to the media ahead of Saturday’s Gallagher Premiership match at Northampton Saints (kick-off 2.00pm).
Here’s what he had to say:
On the opening day win over Leicester Tigers
- It was very important to get the campaign off to a good start and to get four points.
- The game never really got pace into it. It was very stop-start and we were unable to inject the tempo we would have liked.
- There were 13 penalties against us, a lot of them at the breakdown, and we will be certainly looking to reduce that this week and going forward.
What aspects of the win pleased you?
- I was very pleased with Duncan Weir’s kicking and we had some good passages of play in attack.
- Ted Hill had an exceptional game and I would be shocked if Ted is not a major figure in the next Rugby World Cup.
On facing Northampton
- The game will have a lot more tempo in it, that’s for sure because Northampton like to get pace into their game and Franklin’s Gardens is a fast track to play on.
- Northampton won away at Saracens at the weekend. Although Saracens are missing a number of players that was still a very good win on the road so we are in for a tough game.
Will Joe Taufete’e and Ed Fidow play this weekend?
- They both arrived back at the end of last week and they have been straight into training.
- It’s easier for Joe because he has been part and parcel of the club for some time.
- Ed has not played a match for us. He is still getting used to our systems so he will need a bit of time to bed in, We will assess his progress at the end of the week.
Injuries
- Andrew Kitchener has an infected thumb and he has not trained this week.
- Justin Clegg has come through the HIA proptocols after the head injury he sustained playing for Hartpury.
- Graham Kitchener has had a stiff back. He started against Leicester but has not been able to train so far this week.
- Sam Lewis should be fine this weekend. We took him out last week to allow him to recover from his rib injury.