Saints coach wants more from his England stars
Jim Mallinder has told his England players there is plenty of room for improvement.
With the season just four days away and Saints preparing for an almighty clash against champions and east midlands rivals Leicester, Mallinder has told his England stars they should take nothing for granted.
Courtney Lawes, Ben Foden, Chris Ashton and Dylan Hartley have all been included in Martin Johnson's Elite Player Squad as they look to secure a place for next year's World Cup in New Zealand.
But Mallinder has warned that they can still learn more about the game and he wants to see that thirst for knowledge and improvement continue.
Mallinder said: "You should never forget that even your international players, they can all improve, they can all be coached.
"Even if they are playing for England it certainly doesn't mean they are the finished article. As long as players have got that awareness and desire to be coached and learn and want to improve then you will always want them in your squad.
"It is great to work with young players, but our squad as a whole is good to work with. They all want to improve and you need that."
Mallinder has made 12 signings over the summer, with eight of them 25 or under and English.
But he has brought some old heads in as well, like locks Mark Sorenson and Adam Eustace to offer some experience.
The Saints boss believes his squad is deeper and stronger because of the new recruits and is looking forward to them challenging his established stars.
"I look forward to seeing all of them play," said Mallinder.
"We have got a good squad now and I think all the squad are capable of playing first team rugby.
"It is not a clear first 15 we have got, we have got some real good strength in depth in all positions now.
"The scrum-half position is a really good example of that, we have got Lee Dickson and now Ryan Powell who has come in fresh and is training really well.
"Then there is Stuart Commins, who has come over from South Africa. He is young, has loads to learn but already he is a talent at scrum-half.
"And we have got young Ryan Glynn and we saw in the sevens competition what he can do. He is quick, he gets the ball away, so we have got some real good options in all positions."
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Friday 10 February 2012
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