Saints squad have turned head coach Vesty into 'an absolute fanboy'

The head coach has played a huge role in developing a black, green and gold group who are now set for their third major final in as many years.

They won the Gallagher PREM in 2024, reached the Investec Champions Cup showpiece in 2025 and are now ready to take on Exeter Chiefs in Saturday’s PREM final at Allianz Stadium, Twickenham (kick-off 3pm).

And when asked how much he is enjoying his role at Saints, Vesty said: “I love it. I love it.

"I've done it for a long time and it's a long season so there are times when it's tougher than others, but I look at the players who go out there and I'll watch them train, I'll watch them perform and it's so cool.

"I've turned into an absolute fanboy! It's a real privilege and a pleasure to coach them.”

And Vesty couldn’t be happier to be part of what is another hugely exciting week for Saints.

"It's a privilege to be part of these weeks when most clubs aren't, so you feel lucky to be working,” he said.

"The boys, after a big, emotional game last Friday (when Saints beat Leicester Tigers 45-31 in the PREM play-off semi-final), have come back in and I think that game was quite draining - but we're starting to build some energy back up for the final.

"It's such an exciting place to be and it's where you want to be.”

Standing in the way of the trophy on Saturday will be an Exeter side who came back from 26-10 down at half-time to win 27-26 at Bath last weekend.

And when asked about Exeter’s never-say-die spirit, Vesty said: “What a phenomenal trait that is! Any Rob Baxter team seems to have that in abundance. The Exeter team that Rob Baxter has looked after for a very long time have always had that in boatloads.

“This team don't go away. They've come back and nearly beat us here after being 30 points down, the Bath result in the semi-final they were down by a lot of points as well. So if you do get on top, you've got to keep your foot on the throat otherwise they're going to keep coming at you."

Saints, too, have shown an ability to come back and win games late on this season.

"We're good at that,” Vesty said.

“We never say die as well and we pride ourselves on that.

“Fundamentally, Exeter have recently gone away and beaten Leicester and they were fantastic, they've beaten Bath and they were fantastic, they've beaten Sarries - and they are the form team to play at the moment.

“It's going to be such a good challenge and we're looking forward to it.”

So how much can Saints take from their recent final experiences?

“I think we'll draw a good bit from that because I think we've improved final on final, big game on big game,” Vesty said.

“You can add going away to South Africa, you can add some Dublin games, big, chunky games where we've learned a lot about ourselves.

“We've matured, we've got players who have gone on to be having good international careers and now can have those experiences and be a really good rugby player when the pressure's on.

“And there are the shared experiences of us doing that, and that experience allows you to stay calmer and be more true to yourself.”

Saints have again had some incredibly tough selection decisions to make this week.

And Vesty said: “It is (difficult) and good players are going to miss out in a good, competitive squad.

“Those conversations are very difficult and it's people's livelihoods as well so it's not just picking them for their local five-a-side team. There's a good bit on it.

“You just try to be as up front and open as you possibly can.

“People are always going to be disappointed.”

Vesty has played a big part in ensuring Saints combine fun and freedom with physicality.

"That's the balance of what we're searching for and trying to get right all the time,” Vesty said.

“The ability to express yourself while being as physical a weapon as you can be are the bits we hold really important to our game.

“If you come to our environment, the two things you see is that it is a fun environment but it's also a very hard-working environment.

“It's quite easy for people to just see the fun bit and think that's what it is, but it's absolutely not.

“The hard work, the celebration of how hard we work, throughout the whole squad, and what we put out on the training pitch has given us everything we've ever got.

“That belief, that work we put on out on the training pitch has given everything we've got, in Franklin's Gardens, when we go away, when we go to Twickenham.

“We drive a very high standard in our training sessions as well.”

Saints have seen what happens when they don’t get the balance right, most notably in recent losses at Leicester and Harlequins.

"It was a reminder, wasn't it?” Vesty said.

“We've been really consistent throughout the whole year and you can always look at one or two performances but actually we've had very few that you can point out and that's what's given us the consistency of performance and result.

“Getting a reminder at Leicester and at Quins about what are the absolute keys to the game for us, probably came at quite a good time.”