King wants fly-half Myler to start leading Saints

Former Wasps and England No.10 King took up the role of Northampton attack coach after leaving Heineken Cup runners-up Clermont Auvergne this summer.

He has been working closely with every member of the backline to get the best out of his new club’s wealth of offensive options.

And his ethos certainly showed last weekend as Saints played some stylish rugby on their way to a 38-11 demolition of Exeter Chiefs at Franklin’s Gardens.

Myler impressed in that success, making all six of his kicks at goal and putting the team in the right areas.

And King said: “The thing with Stephen is I want him to start leading the team. I think he did that really, really well at the weekend, the way he played, his decision-making.

“I want him to become a real leader in this team. He kicks his goals, he made his tackles but he’s part of the team.

“Every week we’ll learn things about each other and the game and hopefully we’ll improve every week.”

Myler will need to be at his best again on Friday night as Saints head to Harlequins hoping to claim a long overdue win at The Stoop.

Northampton have not beaten Quins on their own turf since September, 2010 and King needs no telling about the task that awaits.

“They’re well coached,” he said. “Conor (O’Shea) has done a great job with how he wants to play the game.

“They’ve got a fantastic spine of eight, nine, 10 and 15. They’re a hard, gritty team. They ground out a win against Wasps at the weekend so they know how to win the tight games.

“They play good rugby as well and Friday will be a real test for us.”