James Ramm conceded Northampton Saints ‘didn’t perform’ as they bowed out of the Premiership Rugby Cup with a rare home defeat to Ealing Trailfinders.
The men in Black, Green and Gold tasted a competitive loss at cinch Stadium at Franklin’s Gardens for only the third time in 35 outings as the Championship leaders progressed with a 26-43 quarter-final victory.
“In our huddle we said we’d talked a lot about having a fast start and putting our game on the park really early, but we didn’t do that,” said Ramm.
“We lost the physical battle and they moved the ball really well so they reaped the benefits of that. It’s not skill error, it’s attitude and it’s on us.
“The coaching staff did everything they could to get us ready for the game but we’ve got to make sure we’re preparing better.
“We always go into a game backing ourselves, knowing when we perform we can get a result, but we just didn’t perform.”
James Ramm
Ramm moved to 26 tries in his 52nd Saints game, crossing twice in the first half before landing the final try of the contest late on to complete his first hat-trick in Black, Green and Gold.
But the 26-year-old was in no mood to celebrate his personal achievement, as Saints now have a two-week break from action before taking on Leicester Tigers as Gallagher Premiership rugby returns to the Gardens on Friday 21 March – tickets are still available by clicking HERE.
“I don’t know if it counts if you lose! It really is tough to take,” he conceded. “No one wants two weeks off before going back into the Leicester game, but we need to use this.
“We need to make sure that when we come into games like this, we are in the right head space. We’ll definitely use training for that.”
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