Ribbans: Saints so determined to finish the season in style

Ribbans played a starring role as the black, green and gold secured a 30-25 Gallagher Premiership win against Wasps at Franklin's Gardens on Saturday.

It means Chris Boyd's side are sitting comfortably in fifth, knowing they can't mathematically make the top four this season.

They will conclude their campaign with a home game against Exeter Chiefs on Sunday and a trip to Bath, on June 12.

And Ribbans said: "We obviously made it pretty hard for ourselves on Saturday, in true Saints fashion - that's how it's been in the past couple of months.

"But it was really important to get the win after the previous two games (Saints had lost to Gloucester and Newcastle).

"The result was more important than the overall performance because of squad morale.

"Hopefully now we can just build on this.

"We know top four is out of reach but we're still really determined to end the season well and hopefully that (win on Saturday) gives us some momentum.

"We've still got things to work on this week but it was good to get the result."

The Saints players were clearly energised by the presence of 4,000 fans at Franklin's Gardens on Saturday.

And Ribbans said: "I can't even describe it!

"I know we're used to a lot more people here, but 4,000 felt good after the last year of having no one in here.

"It was fantastic and it definitely helped us at the end when we were making things hard for ourselves.

"It gave the boys energy and it was just so good to have some people back.

"Without crowds, you're always driving your own energy the whole time and the crowd brings that extra buzz.

"You know how good the Saints fans are - they're the best in the country - and even when things weren't going well, they kept cheering for us.

"It made a massive difference."