Day delighted with Saints’ young stars

Christian Day feels Saturday’s success at Newport was a great experience for Saints’ young guns.
IMPRESSED - Christian Day (right) hailed Saints' youthful front row (Picture Linda Dawson)IMPRESSED - Christian Day (right) hailed Saints' youthful front row (Picture Linda Dawson)
IMPRESSED - Christian Day (right) hailed Saints' youthful front row (Picture Linda Dawson)

A Northampton team that encompassed a blend of youth and experience claimed a battling 34-16 LV= Cup victory in difficult conditions at Rodney Parade.

Saints’ starting front row, which had an average age of just 22, bullied their Dragons counterparts, with hooker Mike Haywood and tighthead prop Gareth Denman going on to grab tries.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

It was a powerful performance from Jim Mallinder’s talented group, which also included debutant props Danny Hobbs-Awoyemi and Adam Parkins.

And senior star Day, who earned the man of the match prize, said: “The coaches set their stall out that we weren’t just going to send a team of youngsters out.

“We sent out a mix of experience and youth and even more youth came on in the second half.

“It was a good victory and a good experience for all the lads involved.”

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Saints survived torrid conditions, which, at one point, forced referee Andrew Small to remove the players from the pitch.

Day was amazed by what he and his team-mates witnessed, but was delighted they powered through to claim a 14th victory in 15 games.

“The hail and the wind before half-time was like something you see on TV when they’re doing a documentary about the Arctic,” said Day. “It was pretty unusual.

“The forwards set a good platform all game. We were close to 100 per cent in the lineout, which, in those conditions, was something to be proud of.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

“Mikey Haywood did well, all four props did well and it was a great result.

“We always like to win. We’ve had a really good away record in the past two seasons, our home record is getting there and there’s more big games to come.”