Talking points: Northampton Saints (a) - Gallagher Premiership

'A quality encounter'

Pat Lam on Saints clash: “Fair play to Chris Boyd. I know him well, he’s a quality coach and they went through a bit of a slump, and he’s turned them around and he’s dealing with a lot of young players coming through and a lot of quality English players as well, and that was a great win they had against Sale – they should have had Bath the week before as well,” he said.

“They’ve had some really tough games, but Franklin’s Gardens is always a tough place to go. I believe it has the potential to be a really quality game, because it’s two teams on form, two teams that like to use the ball and the pitch is fantastic, so it’s set up for a nice game and we’ll see what happens on the day.”

'Delighted to be staying'

Bryan Byrne on re-signing at the Bears: “Bristol a great place to be – it’s an awesome city and a club that is going places. We’ve got a good group of lads here and it’s clear to see how everybody is enjoying their rugby and the performances that the Bears are putting in.

“The key for us now is to kick on and achieve our team goals. We’re under no illusions about the challenges to come but we are relishing every minute of it so far.”

Selection headaches

Pat Lam on competition for places: “We want the headache to be there around selection, but that’s only going to come if guys compete, even the guys who come back, they need to be at their best.

“What I’ve always said is that the strength of our team will come down to competition and guys pushing each other for selection to wear the jersey.”