Dowson backing Coles to come back stronger at Saints next season

There is no doubt that though the Australian ace was far from a regular starter during the latter stages of the season, he will still leave a sizeable void.

Indeed, he looked primed to enjoy a big second season at Saints, having shown glimpses of his immense talent in black, green and gold.

But those hopes have now gone up in smoke as he has moved back home.

Salakaia-Loto's family was unable to settle in Northampton, so he has now gone back Down Under, with Melbourne Rebels set to be his next destination.

For Saints, it is a second big unexpected blow following the news that David Ribbans will join Toulon this summer.

The Ribbans situation blindsided the coaching staff as the England lock was contracted beyond this summer but opted to exercise a break clause to move to France.

Saints quickly sought a replacement for Ribbans, bringing in big Fiji lock Temo Mayanavanua from Lyon.

But now they need to cover for Salakaia-Loto too, and they will keep a close eye on the market in a bid to potentially recruit another influential player.

One thing they have in their favour though, is that they have a man in their squad who can play the same positions and who has showed such strength in recent years.

Alex Coles was in the England picture not so long ago, making his Red Rose debut against Argentina last November.

The 23-year-old now has three caps to his name and earned plenty of praise for his international performances.

But it wasn't plain sailing for him on his return to Saints and he eventually found himself missing out on matchday squads as the black, green and gold went in search of a top-four finish in the Gallagher Premiership.

He didn't make the 23 for the key game at London Irish in March, and he wasn't involved in the final fixture of the regular season, at Newcastle Falcons, or in the play-off semi-final at Saracens.

However, Coles, a real student of the game, will expect to come back stronger after a mixed campaign.

And Saints boss Phil Dowson has full belief that the lock, who is equally adept at six, just like Salakaia-Loto, will have a big part to play next season.

Dowson said: "I had a chat with Colesy and I won't go into the details of it but it's a tough thing, mentally really tough, because he came back from the England environment having played really well and then he doesn't get opportunities in our environment for whatever reason.

"We've got a lot of strength in those positions (second row and back row), guys were playing really well.

"Moony (Alex Moon) has been playing really well this season, Angus Scott-Young has played very well so Colesy has been in a tough situation.

"But one thing I can guarantee about Colesy, which is what we love about him and why he's so important to us, is that he's a bright lad, he'll take stock over the off-season, hopefully he'll be in an England camp where he can get a good, physical pre-season in and hopefully he'll go to the World Cup, but if he doesn't, he'll come back and fly with us.

"He'll be trying to prove a point to me, to himself and to everyone else."