There are bigger teams than Northampton but are there happier ones?

Sam Vesty insists a ‘fun is mandatory’ philosophy can take Saints past Bordeaux-Bègles to win the Champions Cup

Northampton Saints head coach Sam Vesty celebrates with players following victory in the Investec Champions Cup semi-final with Leinster. Pic: Damien Eagers/PA Wire. 

It may sound strange but the moment that best reflects Northampton’s collective mindset took place late at night in their club captain’s bedroom the other week. George Furbank was fast asleep in bed when, suddenly, he awoke to find several uninvited “guests” in his house and a video camera filming his reaction. Saints’ backs have been playing a game called Our House, based on the television show Through the Keyhole, and their senior coaches have also been joining in the fun.

Even on the eve of a massive final, Sam Vesty, Northampton’s head coach, needs little encouragement to tell the story. “We broke in at one o’clock in the morning. Fraser Dingwall, Fin Smith and myself, filmed by Dingers’ girlfriend, went in and shocked him. Boom. We woke him up and he had to do this quiz. Fin came in and he had another challenge. I came in with my tennis balls and said: ‘Right we are going to get better, Furbs.’ We took a video of it all and showed it around.”