Craig desperate to push on after making his Saints comeback

The lofty lock had been struggling with concussion after taking a blow to the head prior to the Aviva Premiership opener against Bath in September.

But he returned to action in the Anglo-Welsh Cup clash at Franklin’s Gardens at the weekend.

And Craig was impressive as he stole several Gloucester lineouts to help Saints secure a 19-13 win.

“It’s been a while,” said the second row forward after his comeback.

“I got a head knock just before the opening game, against Bath, so I’ve obviously been out a while.

“I missed five or six weeks and then took a couple of weeks to get back to something like fitness.

“I wasn’t feeling the best out there on Saturday, but it was good to get a win.

“I was blowing pretty hard and it’s hard to get those fitness levels back in two or three weeks, but I’ll keep working hard and I’ll be fine.”

On his lineout heroics, Craig said: “I felt a bit sorry for Lewis Ludlow, who was calling for them.

“They kind of ran out of options and I knew where they were going to throw the ball.

“It’s just instinct more than anything.

“They obviously picked a bit of a younger side than they did a couple of weeks earlier and we were pretty confident we knew what they would do.

“It’s always handy when you’ve put a decent plan together and it comes off. It was nice.”

Saints will now head to Worcester Warriors on Friday as Aviva Premiership action returns.

Craig will compete with the likes of Michael Paterson and Christian Day for a start.

And he said: “I want to play and I want to help us get back up the league.

“I want to give it my all to help the lads out.”