Northampton alarm bells clang with winter of discontent looming | Robert Kitson

With the George North saga, Dylan Hartley’s suspension and a poor run of results, there is not a lot of jaunty, jazzy marching in at Franklin’s GardensFor a grand old club with an enviable, newly enlarged stadium the modern history of Northampton Saints RFC is strangely fraught. Every team has its highs and lows but the Saints are currently besieged on all sides, trapped by unhappy accidents and assorted misjudgements of their own making. The George North saga, Dylan Hartley’s suspension, looming European oblivion: there is not a lot of jaunty, jazzy marching in at Franklin’s Gardens right now…