For Northampton, and for Carlos Spencer in particular, this season has been an exercise in seeing how the other half live. After the punishment of relegation from the Guinness Premiership last season, one of the biggest clubs in the country have been doing their penance in distinctly unglamorous locations such as Launceston and Sedgley Park. Last Saturday, they ground out a victory over Plymouth Albion in a quagmire at Brickfields, which provided another dose of harsh reality for Spencer, the former New Zealand fly half.

“Some of the pitches have been crap, absolute crap, especially last weekend. Fair play to the guys who play in those conditions all the time,” Spencer said yesterday. “And some of the changing-rooms have been so small we could hardly move. I've learnt that you've got to be first into the shower, otherwise the water will be cold.”

On Saturday, a win at home to Exeter Chiefs, their nearest challengers, will confirm the promotion that has long looked a formality, returning the Saints to their natural habitat in the Premiership. In winning all 25 games so far this season in National League One, their average score has been a 45-12 victory. They have been sorely tested on occasions, such as their 24-23 victory over Newbury in December, but there have also been some awful mismatches, such as the 96-3 trouncing of Sedgley Park in January.

The prospect of playing against Spencer must have whetted the appetites of the more bloodthirsty journeymen in the first division, where the rugby is famously uncompromising. As Paul Grayson, the Northampton head coach at the time, said of Spencer last season: “He's one of the most talented players that has ever picked up a rugby ball. When he gets caught on the wrong side of the ruck, there's a pretty long queue to give him a kick.” He even dyed his hair blond at the start of the season to assist opposing boots in locating their target.

It may seem incongruous to find Spencer, one of the game's aristocrats, slumming it outside the Premiership for a season, but he has welcomed the opportunity to sample some of the game's traditional virtues. “I've really enjoyed it, actually,” he said. “It keeps your feet on the ground. We've had some good away trips, had a few beers on the bus back and built a good team culture. This season was all about getting our confidence back and that's what we've done. Hopefully we can take that into next year.”

Having experienced relegation in his first season at Franklin's Gardens, many expected Spencer, 32, to move elsewhere, but he stayed and has recently signed a two-year extension to his contract. “I wanted to stay,” he said. “I made a lot of friends here and it [relegation] wasn't the players' fault, it was more to do with the structure of the club. I wanted to help to get the club back in the Premiership.”

After an unhappy couple of years, Northampton have regrouped this season under Jim Mallinder, the director of rugby, and Dorian West, the forwards coach, who were enticed away from the RFU's national academy. Grayson has been retained as backs coach and, crucially, they also hung on to most of their key players. They have started building for the return to the Premiership next season with the recruitment of Ben Foden and Chris Mayor, from Sale Sharks, Roger Wilson and Simon Best, from Ulster, Nils Mordt, from London Irish, and, last week, Petru Balan, from Biarritz.

Their supporters have also stayed with them. Five-figure attendances have been the norm for home games and a sell-out crowd is expected for Saturday's game against Exeter. For the expected celebrations, they will be hoping that Spencer serves up some champagne rugby. “You've got to get the game won first,” he said. “When we've got ourselves a handy lead, then I might start trying all that stuff.”