Having proved himself in the second tier and signed for Northamp ton at the height of the Covid restrictions in the summer of 2020, the opportunity to play in front of a raucous Franklin's Gardens crowd had been initially denied to the scrum-half.
But that won't be the case today with Saints' fans needing to be in full voice to drown out the Munster hordes that will undoubtedly make the trip over the Irish Sea.
It should make for a brilliant atmosphere, even with the lunchtime kick-off, and James can't wait to be involved following last week's morale-boosting win over Saracens.
"The first one-and-a half if not two seasons I was in the Premiership there were either no crowds or very little crowds, so it was a strange sort of start to my Premiership career," he said.
"The reason you do it are for games like last Friday and games like Sunday the big occasions. It's definitely a privilege to be out there."
Having seen their table-topping team thrashed 52-21 by Bristol in their first Premiership game back after the international break, Saints' fans were in wonderland at the nature of the response against Saracens.
Saints were in scintillating form and gave an appreciative full house at Franklin's Gardens full value for money with a 41-30 win.
"They've been awesome," James said of the Saints fans, who are loving the five-month unbeaten home run.
Esta historia es de la edición April 07, 2024 de The Rugby Paper.
Comience su prueba gratuita de Magzter GOLD de 7 días para acceder a miles de historias premium seleccionadas y a más de 9,000 revistas y periódicos.
Ya eres suscriptor ? Conectar
Esta historia es de la edición April 07, 2024 de The Rugby Paper.
Comience su prueba gratuita de Magzter GOLD de 7 días para acceder a miles de historias premium seleccionadas y a más de 9,000 revistas y periódicos.
Ya eres suscriptor? Conectar
England can find a little bit of cheer
SO HERE we are on the final day of England’s autumn international series with all of us hoping and expecting Steve Borthwick’s team to win today after three weeks of bitter disappointment.
Stop messing with Marcus - Campese
DAVID Campese believes England are going backwards under Steve Borthwick, who is ‘messing around’ with talisman Marcus Smith.
Being a Lion was the highlight of my career
I PLAYED 19 games and scored 219 points for the Lions, on the tours to South Africa in 1968 and New Zealand in 1971, but I never played in a Test and that was fair enough.
Cook's crew not fazed as they eye tilt at top half
THERE appear to be few signs of second season syndrome at Westcombe Park as captain Nick Cook reveals the group aren’t even contemplating the threat of relegation and are instead targeting a top-half finish.
Forwards pack a punch for the Reds
OLD Redcliffians produced a proud defensive effort to take a bonus-point win.
Tom 'Ailes' the achievements of inspirational skipper Riley
SEDGLEY Park No. 8 Tom Ailes says his team relish the competitive nature of National One and is confident the Tigers can rectify their rocky start to the season in weeks to come.
Strachan confident Ampthill will be firing again soon
FRASER Strachan is determined to put Ampthill’s leaky defensive showings behind them and gain some much needed confidence in the run up to Christmas.
It's a whole new ball game for Rigg
WILL Rigg’s ambition was to become a professional cricketer but it is the oval ball rather than The Oval that is his driver now.
Scarratt leads the way for Lightning
LOUGHBOROUGH won a wet and windy East Midlands Derby after having the bonus point in the bag by half-time.
Becconsall: We need to release pressure
WILL Becconsall says Exeter are not spooked by the threat of relegation as they look to turn around their Premiership campaign after starting with six straight defeats.