ALEX Rae admits his Coventry Rugby players ‘can’t wait’ to take on Premiership champions Northampton Saints at Butts Park Arena this weekend.
Coventry hope to play in front of a sell-out crowd with just a few hundred tickets remaining for the Premiership Rugby Cup clash.
And Rae also wants his side to ‘fly the flag’ for the Championship as Coventry meet Saints for the first time since the 2007/08 season looking to secure an eighth successive win in all competitions.
Rae said: “It’s been one of those weeks where you don’t have to say too much.
“In fact training has got in the way of the game a bit as quite a few of our lads can’t wait for Saturday to have a crack at the Premiership champions.
“We’re obviously very respectful of Northampton and having seen some of the teams already announced by Premiership clubs for the games on Friday night we are expecting a very strong Saints team to turn up on Saturday.
“Fingers crossed Saints bring the strongest possible team. They have lots of really good players across the board and their style of rugby regardless of who plays is really impressive.
“It’s a great opportunity for us to show how good we can be not just for Coventry but also to fly the flag for the Championship.”
With heavy rain forecast this weekend, Rae joked his side had the ideal preparation earlier this week when training in heavy snow.
Rae added: “The lads had perfect prep on Tuesday when we trained in heavy snow and it was slippy and not very enjoyable
“In fairness we’ve had a good run with the weather so far this season but either way we’re prepared for any eventuality and able to adapt.
“You always have an idea of the style of rugby you want to play then you tailor things accordingly.”
The Cov boss also hopes a sold out Butts Park Arena will inspire his side to victory following a memorable victory against Leicester Tigers at Welford Road in front of 15,000 spectators.
Rae said: “Playing in front of 15,000 at Leicester was a great experience for the boys but playing in front of a packed Butts Park Arena will be something else.
“When everyone is stood shoulder-to-shoulder with people cramming the sidelines it does feel very close knit.
“Getting the crowd involved makes it a very tough place for visiting teams to play and it’s up to us to make that happen.”
Coventry host Northampton Saints on Saturday, November 23 with kick-off at 3pm at Butts Park Arena.
