Augustus looking to ‘create as many memories as possible’ before season’s close

Saturday’s match against Bristol Bears represents a penultimate home appearance for Northampton Saints No.8 Juarno Augustus, who is intent on making an impact right to the last.

It’s been known for some time now that the 27-year-old South African will depart cinch Stadium at Franklin’s Gardens at the end of the season to join Ulster in the United Rugby Championship.

During his four seasons in Black, Green and Gold, Augustus has been a destructive presence at the back of the scrum, capable of making large dents in opposition defences as well as unceremoniously stopping would-be attackers in their tracks.

He has made some fantastic memories along the way, not least being part of the starting XV in last season’s Gallagher Premiership final triumph against Bath at Allianz Stadium, Twickenham.

An Investec Champions Cup semi-final against Leinster for the second season running is beginning to loom on the horizon, meaning Augustus could yet go out with a bang should Saints defy the bookies’ odds in Dublin next week.

This, and the run-in to the Premiership campaign, means the man nicknamed ‘Trokkie’ isn’t ready to say his goodbyes to the Northampton faithful just yet.

Augustus said: “I haven’t thought about it too much yet because I’m just focusing on the next job.

“It’s probably when it gets closer to the time, at the end of the season, that it will properly kick in, but I’m not looking at that stage of the season.

“I’ve grown so close to most of my team-mates – I even call them my brothers because we spend so much time together away from the Club as well. I’ll miss it but I don’t want to think too far ahead.”

Augustus admits having the opportunity to play matches in his home country and see his family in Cape Town more often was part of the appeal of choosing to play in the URC from next season.

He feels he is leaving Saints a much more rounded player than the one that arrived from the Stormers in the summer of 2021, and he has singled out the experienced figures during his time with the Club who have helped him on his way.

“I’ve learned from a few good international players, like Courts, Luds, Biggsy, even Lukhan when he came over from Australia, and Matt Proctor as well, all international players,” Augustus said.

“I haven’t had the opportunity to play international rugby yet, so I’ve learned quite a lot from them.

“Playing in big games, for them it’s just another game with more people watching, but the game doesn’t change, it’s the same game.

“So, I’ve learned a lot, and I’ll take that with me and hopefully I can give that over as a senior player at Ulster. Hopefully I can give something back to the younger boys.”

Before he heads to Belfast, however, Augustus could play a key role in the final month of his Saints career, with his team-mates not yet giving up on a Premiership play-off place on top of that aforementioned date with Leinster.

What is for certain is he will continue to savour being part of an environment that he believes has allowed him to play his best rugby.

Augustus said: “Joining the Saints has given me the freedom to do what I want and play how I want to play so I can just play freely.

“I can just go out there and be myself, and that’s when players play at their best, so that’s nice even with a guy like [Henry] Pollock coming in.

“He comes in and has the freedom to chip and chase and score unreal tries, and that’s just the freedom in our gameplay that makes us play better.

On what sights he has set on the remainder of the campaign, Augustus added: “The main goal is just to make as many memories or create as many memories as I can in the next month, or however long is left.

“I don’t want to count down the days, I don’t want to think about it, so I’ll just live day by day and just create as many memories as I can with the boys.”