Horne can't wait to see Saints take on Tigers at Twickenham

The game will be played in aid of Horne, with some of the funds raised going to the retired centre and his family.

Horne was forced to call time on his rugby career at the age of just 28 after suffering full paralysis of his right arm in the win at Leicester back in April.

And the whole rugby community has come together to rally round the man who currently holds Saints' players' player and supporters' player of the year awards.

Horne has been busy doing media duties at Twickenham this week and he will be at the game on Saturday, having returned to England on Tuesday.

And he said: "It's been good to be back.

"I'm looking forward to the weekend, watching our boys go out there and go well.

"I'll be doing the coffee rounds with the Saints boys so I'm looking forward to seeing them again and catching up.

"The beauty of Whatsapp is at your fingertips so I've definitely been keeping tabs on what's been going on.

"I'm looking forward to getting back up there (to Northampton) and seeing the boys and something I'm looking forward to even more is seeing them go out there at the weekend in a derby game on the biggest stage."

Horne, who scored eight tries in 21 appearances for Saints, opted to move back to Australia after the sad events of late last season, but even though he isn't on social media, he has still

received all the messages of support that have been sent in his direction.

"It's not hard to keep track of it because everyone lets you know about it," he said.

"It's really nice and really humbling that the support is there, especially from my team-mates, the club and people in Northamptonshire. It's played such a big role in my life.

"I'm really humbled by that support.

"It was a short time but in a good way it felt like I was there for a very long time. That's testament to the club and the supporter base.

"I invested a lot emotionally to go out there and perform well for the team and for the club. Possibly the supporters could see that and feel that."

Horne is not sure what the future holds for him, but he is hugely positive about it.

"I've been going well," he said.

"It's been good to be home and getting my feet back on the ground.

"I'm in the initial stages of sorting out the next chapter.

"I've got no idea at all what I'll be doing but it's open, very exciting and I'm looking forward to getting stuck into that."

Saints will undoubtedly be using Horne as their major motivation this weekend.

But the man who won 29 caps for Australia does not feel the need to give them any advice ahead of the big occasion.

"I'm a retired rugby player now so there's nothing I could say that would affect them," he said.

"It's the men in that changing room who are going to decide the result and I look forward to watching them go out there and play well in a huge game, because derby games are different.

"There's a different feel on derby day and I can't wait to see my mates go out there and play well."

And Horne believes a bright future lies ahead for his former club.

"The building blocks are certainly there and you can see some of that young talent, especially Tom Collins, Lewis Ludlam, guys like that," he said.

"You expect to see guys like that perform week in, week out and on a stage like Twickenham on a fast pitch, the game Saints are developing will suit that environment well.

"I've sort of kept tabs and I'm looking forward to seeing our home fixture at such an iconic venue."