In addition Mallinder brought players like Roger Wilson and Neil Best to the Saints from Ulster, and the squad he put together finished eighth in their first year back in the Premiership, as well as reaching the semi-finals of the Anglo-Welsh Cup.
An unbeaten pool campaign in the European Challenge Cup brought home advantage in the knockout stages, and after beating Connacht and Saracens the Saints defeated Bourgoin at the Twickenham Stoop to lift their first piece of major silverware in a decade and secure a place in the Heineken Cup in the process.
The 2009/10 season was another campaign of progression for the Saints, who won their first major domestic trophy, the Anglo-Welsh Cup, by beating Gloucester at Worcester's Sixways Stadium.
At the Millennium Stadium the Saints put in their best first half performance in many years, but were pegged back by Leinster and eventually lost the game.
[4] This followed success in the Amlin Challenge Cup final against Bath Rugby the previous week,[5] representing an historic double trophy winning season for the club.
[6] Northampton Saints suffered a series of heavy defeats early in the 2017/18 season, winning one game from ten in all competitions.