Mallinder is axed by Saints

JIM MALLINDER is set for a six-figure pay-off after he was sacked by Northampton. Mallinder was the longestserving Premiership director of rugby, coaching the Saints for 10 years, and signed a five-year deal after winning the league title in 2014. But sources close to the club felt Mallinder’s departure was inevitable after eight consecutive defeats. Former England boss Stuart Lancaster, currently an assistant coach at Leinster, is an early frontrunner for the job. Meanwhile, Taulupe Faletau will miss Wales’ Six Nations campaign after suffering a knee ligament tear in Bath’s defeat by Toulon on Saturday. The No 8 joins Jonathan Davies and Sam Warburton on the list of absentees for Warren Gatland’s squad.