Saints win race for Leslie

Northampton beat Leicester to John Leslie yesterday, the European champions signing the former Scotland captain on a free transfer from Newcastle.

By finalising a contract until May 2003, the 30-year-old New Zealander will join the ageless Welshman Allan Bateman, 36 next year, in forming the most mature centre partnership in the English Premiership. Leslie qualifies for Scotland because his grandfather, once a goalkeeper with Hibernian, came from Linlithgow. He had been declared surplus to requirements at Newcastle having made fewer than 10 Premiership appearances since joining them from Japanese club rugby last season. The success of their uncapped young English pair, Tom May and Jamie Noon, left him with nowhere to go at Kingston Park but somewhere else.

Leslie had been offered an alternative career at Leicester as their long-term replacement for player-coach Pat Howard, who returns to Australia at the end of the season.'We are delighted John has chosen Northampton,' said the club's rugby director John Steele. 'His experience and leadership qualities will enhance the development of our back line.' Pat Lam, the Samoan whose inspired captaincy turned the Saints from perennial under-achievers into European champions, has won the supreme individual award as voted by the rugby Union Writers' Club. As clear-cut winner of the Pat Marshall award as rugby personality of the year, Lam will receive the trophy at the club's annual dinner in London next month.

Springbok coach Harry Viljoen warned last night his squad need regular gettogethers or face 'serious problems' next year. After returning home from an exhausting six-week tour which included their 17-25 defeat by England, Viljoen said:'Northern hemisphere teams like England work on a weekly basis.We need to do the same.'