Mallinder?s team combined flair and muscular pragmatism to dispose of an inept Bath side 26-6 was reminiscent of England?s Six Nations displays this season and Mallinder, who has previously coached the ?England Under-21s and the England Saxons, believes this is the best ?blueprint for success at club and international levels.
?England seem to have changed their style from the World Cup and it probably is fairly similar to the way that we like to play,? he said. ?England got more adventurous as the Six Nations progressed, as they ?developed off that strong scrum. If they can learn to play off that set-piece, they?ll become even stronger.?
Ditto Northampton, whose players feature in key positions for England. ?I thought our England lads were exceptional against Bath,? said Mallinder. ?Lee Dickson really gives us that tempo, Chris Ashton and Ben Foden at the back are very, very strong, and Phil Dowson is a real leader for us up front and he has warranted his England selection.?
The four were instrumental in the victory, alongside outside-half Ryan Lamb who had a slick afternoon, kicking three penalties, a conversion and a dropped-goal, with an ebullient pack in front of them.
A penalty try was the first-half reward for Saints? front eight, coming after five consecutive five-metre scrums, while in the second period, hooker Andy Long was driven over the line against his old club for the visitors? second try, to seal the game with a quarter of an hour remaining.
For the home side All Black Stephen Donald kicked two penalties, but missed three. Mallinder, asked if he sees himself as England coach in the future, replied: ?I?m very happy here at Northampton, and I want to win something big here. We have a really good team and we are developing a really good squad. Certainly, it is a job I would love to do, I would love to be a No?1. I don?t think I?d be a very good assistant, I?m not very good at taking orders.?
?It?s going to be difficult to win the World Cup, and even this next year or so is going to be difficult and very challenging. But they?ve got the potential, and I do think Stuart and his colleagues have been picking the right group of players.?
Back at Franklin?s Gardens, Northampton have captain Dylan Hartley and flanker Calum Clark banned for eight and 32 weeks respectively.
Mallinder will decide on Monday whether to appeal against the length of the ban imposed on Clark, who was found guilty of causing a serious arm injury to Leicester hooker Rob Hawkins in the LV Cup final.
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