Northampton Saints are a professional rugby union club from Northampton, England. The Northampton Saints were formed in 1880. They play in green, black and gold colours. They play their home games at Franklin's Gardens, which has a capacity of 13,591.

The club won their first major trophy when they defeated Munster in the 1999–2000 Heineken Cup final. Recent success has involved winning The 2008–09 European Challenge Cup, The 2009–10 LV Cup and consistently maintaining a playoff position in the Aviva Premiership. The Saints also reached the final of the 2010–11 Heineken Cup and the 2011-12 LV Cup.

Their biggest rivals are Leicester Tigers. "The East Midland Derby" is one of the fiercest rivalries in English Rugby Union.

The Saints posted a club record £13.175 million turnover for the 2010-11 season.^{[citation needed]}

The club was established in 1880 under the original title of Northampton St. James (Saints) by Rev Samuel Wathen Wigg, a local clergyman and curate of St. James who was a resident of the nearby village of Milton Malsor in the house known as 'Mortimers'. This is how the club got its two nicknames of The Saints or Jimmies. His original concept was to promote "order" to his younger parish members by creating a youth rugby club, with the philosophy of a "hooligan sport designed to turn them into gentlemen".

Northampton ⁱ/nɔrˈθæmptən/ is a large market town and local government district in the East Midlands region of England. Situated about 67 miles (108 km) north-west of London and around 50 miles (80 km) south-east of Birmingham, Northampton lies on the River Nene and is the county town of Northamptonshire. The demonym of Northampton is Northamptonian.

Original settlements in Northampton date back to the 6th century. Its modern development is largely due to its rapid population increase since the 1960s after a planned expansion occurred under the New Towns Commission in the early 1970s. In 2001, its urban area population was 197,199 while its town population was 189,474, making Northampton the 27th largest settlement in England, and the UK's 3rd largest town without official city status after Reading and Dudley. Northampton is the most populous district in England that is not a unitary authority, a status it failed to obtain in the 1990s local government reform.

Northampton has a history of the manufacture of boots and shoes yet engineering has taken over as a modern key industry; other industries include food processing, brewing, and the manufacture of shoe machinery, cosmetics, leather goods, and car accessories. At present, the major employers are public administration, financial services, and the distribution trade.

Benjamin Foden (born 22 July 1985 in Chester)^{[citation needed]} is a rugby union footballer who plays for Northampton Saints and England. He plays at fullback or scrum-half, but can also operate on the wing. He scored his first try for England against France in the 2010 Six Nations.

He gained his nickname of 'Pop Idol' or 'Pops' by missing the first day of pre-season with Sale for an audition on the programme.

Foden was educated at Bishop Heber High School in Malpas, Cheshire before moving to Bromsgrove School for sixth form.^{[citation needed]} His Bromsgrove School teacher Paul Mullan was a big influence on his career, as was his dad, Rob, who coached Ben and brother Tom's youth team.

His career has been divided between playing at scrum-half and fullback, though he can also operate on the wing. In an interview in March 2009, Foden accepted that his future lies at playing fullback.

Foden played for Cheshire and North of England U16s, and England U16s. He then went on to play for England U19s, and England Counties.