Saints star Ramm 'really refreshed' as he heads into league opener on a high

Ramm scored two key second-half tries to help the black, green and gold claim a 49-34 victory in their PREM Rugby Cup opener at Saracens.

It was a strong showing from Phil Dowson's side as they eventually got to grip with their opponents at StoneX Stadium.

And it was a big performance from Ramm, who is now fit again after suffering an injury in the early stages of the Investec Champions Cup final defeat back in May.

"I'm feeling really good," Ramm said.

"I did have a fair while off over the summer in a (protective) boot, walking around, and I feel really refreshed coming back.

"We've had a big couple of weeks in the gym and I feel really good.

"I'm probably speaking on behalf of all the boys when I say we're ready to go."

Ramm got engaged during the summer.

And he said: "I did take the boot off for the proposal and the physios weren't too happy about that, but we had a good summer and I'm now engaged to my beautiful fiancée."

Ramm's focus is now on helping Saints to get their league campaign off to a winning start when they welcome Exeter Chiefs to cinch Stadium at Franklin's Gardens on Sunday (kick-off 1pm).

"First round, everyone's going to be flying into it, everyone's got a point to prove," Ramm said.

"We were bottom end of the table with Exeter last season so we've both got points to prove when we start the season properly.

"We've relied heavily on our home form in the past couple of years and we love playing at home.

"We can't wait to get back in front of the fans at Franklin's Gardens and get going again.

"We do want to fix up our away form so we can take good things from the game last Friday.

"We've had a big focus on the away form this pre-season. We've had weeks away, travelled up to Glasgow and made sure we're put out of our comfort zone to make sure we're ready when we have those long travel days."

The game at Saracens last Friday was a roller coaster affair, but Saints eventually gave themselves some breathing space thanks to Ramm's two tries.

"It was exactly what we wanted," said the Australian back.

"It was a really good hit-out, really physical out there, which is what we were going after, and we're really happy.

"You want to test everything and find out which part of your game is breaking down so you can put it right, and that was the perfect game for that.

"There's no substitute for game fitness. You could run for a year, get to the first game and still be blowing.

"We blew the cobwebs away and we've had a couple of games now so we're starting to get into our stride and we're looking forward to getting into the next game."