Northampton Saints have the strength in depth to break Premiership duck After the end-of-season anticlimax, they did the only thing a serious contender could, and that was get into the transfer market in a big way. And what a splash they made. Big guns with plenty of years on the clock joined including two of the players of the year in George North and Alex Corbisiero, both global hits in the summer. Then to add some zip, a slightly less well known but no less classy Kahn Fotuaili'i. When I called him the best scrum-half in the world last year people sniggered a little. But just watch him play. He has rotated with Lee Dickson in openers a little and they are likely to do so all season to keep both fresh. Dickson will not make anything easy for him and is a lovely option to have, but Fotuaili'i oozes class. One dart against Quins in a 15-metre channel, when he looked swamped in the rain at the Stoop, had defenders clutching at air. Northampton have also looked to the lower leagues for some class and have added Sam Dickinson from Rotherham in the back row to add strength, and now the squad looks deep. In the front row Mike Haywood and Alex Waller come charging off the bench and I have long been fans of these kids. Most importantly some key selection issues seem to have also been resolved. Courtney Lawes has to play in the second row, only covering the back row in emergency. LET him jump, push and smash. Do not ask him to read the game too much, or handle too much. At fly-half the guilty pleasure that is Ryan Lamb has taken his intercept passes up the road to Leicester. Lamb still has real class at times but was the polar opposite in terms of style to Stephen Myler, which meant that when they were rotated last season Saints were always going to find it tough to build a solid routine or style on the field. You would have to be a schizophrenic rugby player to adapt to those lads. So now only Myler remains and his international tour has also given him a lovely air of composure and authority. His distribution looks nice, he still tackles OK, and his kicking game is varied now. In the midfield Luther Burrell is the made-to-measure modern No12. He is a huge lump, has pace, can run hard and pass and has shown it with style in both openers. He is still learning a little defensively but having a slab of concrete in the middle always helps. Ben Foden looks fit again at fullback after a rest and working with George North will be a dream for him. North so far has shown flashes of his ability with blistering runs in both games up the touchline like a good old fashioned winger. He will create panic when he gets used to this side and goes hunting. Then we get to the leaders in the team. Hartley looks, I say with fingers crossed, like a man who has sat on the naughty step and learnt his lesson. He offers hard running, big scrum, nice arrows, good hits and excellent breakdown. Missing the Lions will haunt him and Saints gives him a shot at redemption as captain. I always thought he was a bit of a thug, a liability, but he looks a different man now. I am genuinely pleased for the lad and hope it lasts. Backing him up is England's captain in the summer, Tom Wood. We know Lancaster would have picked him 18 months ago but for injury. He too has had his time on the side but not self-inflicted and it has been tough but he is back and looks strong. Physical, fit, mentally strong, a fantastic dog of a player, who is tenacious and hard, he has a great engine and can read the game. His hands are OK but no one has everything. It is too early to make a call on England captain. LET him get to November injury free and still playing well, and then worry about it. In the past, this is where the story of Saints this season would have ended. But not now, because after all this I still have not mentioned Samu Manoa, who was my player of the Aviva Premiership last year. Second row or back row, he is a monster every week. The Pisi boys, George and Ken, also have not been discussed and these guys rocked last year even when Northampton did not. James Wilson can play 11, 13, 14, and 15 to a high standard too. And the back row now has options coming out of its cauliflower ears. Phil Dowson and Calum Clark give real choice and talent. Then there is Christian Day, who would be a huge contender for supporters" player of the year. They have real strength in depth, with reliable 22 game-a-season men. Off the field they have added a new coach to the ranks in Alex King, a man I admire greatly for his achievements as a player and his adaptation to life as a coach at Clermont Auvergne. He has already fitted in as a fellow tea drinker alongside Dorian West and Jim Mallinder, and will do well. They are not perfect of course and my one concern is temperament and discipline. They have shown already that they will commit to the breakdowns to make life a misery for scrum halves, but they might also give referees easy targets. And in that battle there can be only one winner. Can they temper their competitive edge and spirit, and marry it to one of long-term pragmatism and consistency to win their first Premiership? Winning ugly and nicking games all season long are what perennial trophy boys Leicester manage to do. What we will see against Gloucester this afternoon is if Northampton have managed to keep the hunger they need and added the stomach it takes to crack the Aviva Premiership.