Mallinder: ‘I don’t think the referee was on our side’

Northampton coach Jim Mallinder has told talkSPORT he was unhappy with the performance of referee Dave Pearson in his side's 24-17 defeat at Saracens on Sunday afternoon.

That reverse at Vicarage Road ended the Saints' unbeaten start to the season and, while Mallinder recognised that his players were not at their best, he admits he was disappointed with the official.

Northampton had both Calum Clark and Shane Geraghty sin-binned and Mallinder told talkSPORT: "I don’t think the referee was on our side. When you come away you need some help from the referees and he made a couple of interesting decisions that we need to take a look at."

Saints will be looking to return to winning ways when they face Exeter Chiefs next weekend, and Mallinder insists they will approach that game in a positive manner.

He added: "We’ve been away over the last few seasons and not come away with anything even after playing well, so we’re pleased with the bonus point [against Saracens].

"We've won three of our first four games so we're in a good position and we’re a good side so we need to keep our confidence up."