Collins urges Saints youngsters to take the positives from derby defeat

And the fledgling full-back was instead keen to stress the positives of a determined performance from a young crop of players.

Saints fell to a 17-8 LV= Cup loss at Welford Road, but competed well with a Tigers team that included the likes of Jamie Gibson and Niall Morris.

Jim Mallinder’s men were in the hunt for the victory until a late Owen Williams penalty put the game beyond them.

And Collins said: “It was frustrating, but with a new group of lads coming together it’s hard to gel a team in one game.

“Our team was so young, with an average age of about 22, 23, and everyone did well.

“It was unlucky that things didn’t go our way, but the lads showed great desire and we’re unlucky not to get the losing bonus point.

“You take positives from it. There were some negatives, but a lot of positives.

“The young lads shouldn’t beat themselves up because a lot of players did well and we’ll take what we can from it.

“We’ve got Wasps next Saturday and hopefully we’ll pick up some points and go on in the competition.”