There is no quarter asked or given in East Midlands derbies, but there will be lots of handshakes and banter around from both camps ahead of kick-off. And, despite the red-hot rivalry, there is also undoubted mutual respect from the playing and management teams.
We may not like to admit it, but there are a lot of similarities in the camps.
Both clubs attempt to build their teams over a number of seasons, using the best of homegrown talent alongside their recruitment programme.
Tigers include players who have come all the way through the ranks like Croft, Cole and the Youngs boys; imported talent from other clubs including Parling, Crane and Allen; potential with one eye on the future in Kitchener and Morris; with a smattering of undoubted talent recruited from elsewhere, like Tait and Waldrom.
From the Saints side of the divide you could substitute those names for Elliott and Lawes; Wood, Dickson and Day; Burrell and Clark; Foden, Manoa and Pisi.
Both sets of supporters are well known for the strength of their backing for their players – and The Tig will even concede they have more words in their one song than we have.
Both home grounds are invariably full, noisy and colourful on matchday, both are among the best around.
The players, of course, know each other well, either from international get-togethers or just from close rivalry in club colours.
This weekend there are a number of influential characters from both camps who will be involved for the last time – Matt O’Connor and Martin Castrogiovanni with Tigers, as well as Geordan Murphy’s last day as part of the playing squad, and Tonga’uiha and Mujati among the curtain-callers with Northampton.
The clubs are so close there will be supporters who work with fans of the opposition, who will be longing for Monday morning or dreading it, depending on the final score. There will be some parts of border country where neighbours will be on separate sides and you can bet there will be many mixed groups of supporters sharing beer and banter all over Twickenham – at least before the match!
There is undoubtedly a massive mutual respect, despite that intense rivalry. But that respect will not prevent both sets of players tearing into each other from the first whistle to the last. It’s going to be a classic.
