 Reihana is leaving Saints in the summer to return to New Zealand |
Northampton wing Bruce Reihana has warned his struggling side to expect a tough test in the crucial clash against basement club Worcester on Saturday. The Saints are desperate to end a run of seven straight losses which has left them third from bottom in the league.
"It will be a very tough game this weekend. Worcester know where we are at the moment and will be up for it. It is massive," Reihana told BBC Sport.
"They will be very strong and we must make sure we want it more than them."
Northampton's poor league run started with the 12-18 home loss against Gloucester on 18 September.
But apart from heavy defeats at the hands of Leicester and Sale, the other five reverses have been by just 11 points or less.
Their last outing against London Irish, in which they lost 20-21, summed up the season so far.
The Saints started badly but battled back only for Shane Drahm to miss a conversion attempt in injury time which would have sealed victory.
"We are as close as anything to turning it around. We have been positive in training but it's about fronting up on the day," said Reihana.
"We have had a few hard words from a few players and we've been training really hard to change things.
"Getting a good start against Worcester is very important. That's something we have not done in a while.
 |  I want to win something this season and help this team out as much as I can |
"We have made a lot of individual errors throughout the team which has cost us.
"I've made a few errors myself and there are things I can work on. Hopefully I can start finding the try-line soon because it's been hiding away from me for a while."
Reihana, who won two caps for New Zealand in 2000, believes Saturday's clash illustrates the strength of the Premiership.
"There are no easy games," he said. "In the NPC and Super 12 you might target a couple of games as bonus-point matches but over here the main thing is to try and get the win.
"I rate the Premiership very highly. It is getting stronger and stronger."
 Reihana scored two tries in two Tests for New Zealand |
The New Zealander has been a massive success at Northampton since he arrived two years ago. He scored 15 tries in all competitions last season and his efforts were rewarded with the Professional Rugby Players Association Players' Player of the Year award as well as the Zurich Premiership Overseas Player of the Year.
But he is heading home to rejoin Waikato at the end of this season and is desperate to sign off with a successful campaign.
"I want to win something this season and help this team out as much as I can," he added.
"I pride myself on working very hard and setting my goals very high. I want to keep pushing and doing as much as I can on and off the field to keep the team moving forward.
"I have not thought about the move to New Zealand. The best thing we did was the signing and getting it out of our minds - I can just concentrate on the rugby now."
MMIX
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