Northampton Saints director of rugby Jim Mallinder admits he cannot wait to unleash his British & Irish Lions heroes George North and Alex Corbisiero on the Premiership this season.
North has swapped Scarlets for Saints this campaign and the flying winger’s stock has only increased after scoring a scintillating try in the Lions’ first Test in Brisbane, before touching down again in the series decider in Sydney.
Prop Corbisiero – who opened the scoring in the third Test – will also be at Mallinder’s service after leaving London Irish for Franklin’s Gardens.
The pair helped secure Lions’ first series win in 16 years and former full-back Mallinder believes their success can rub off on last year’s Premiership runners-up.
“We watched the Lions tour with excitement, seeing what George and Alex accomplished,” said Mallinder.
“George had a really good tour, not just the odd top game. In every game he played he had a massive impact. We’re hoping he can do that for us.
“Corbisiero is a bright bloke who loves to talk about the scrum. He’s very enthusiastic about it.
“On top of that, he’s also a very good player. That’s the type of player we want.
“You can’t just have scrummages now, they have to be able to do other things around the field. That’s one of the advantages of Corbisiero.
“They’re good signings on paper and the important thing for us is that they’re good players for Northampton. That’s the challenge we face.”
