Iyogun looks back on 'amazing' Saints journey ahead of 'monumental' match

Iyogun is now a key figure for Phil Dowson's men, having initially broken into the team five years ago.

The Academy graduate, who had made his first Saints appearance from the bench at Leicester Tigers on the previous weekend, was thrust into the spotlight amid an injury crisis ahead of the Champions Cup quarter-final at Exeter Chiefs in September 2020.

Saints were down to the bare bones and they even had to draft in Alex Saville on loan from Gloucester at short notice to provide loosehead cover on the bench.

Iyogun allayed all of the fears though, producing a huge 72-minute performance in the defeat at Sandy Park.

And fast forward to the present day, he is now Saints' top option for the No.1 shirt ahead of this weekend's showpiece at the Principality Stadium in Cardiff.

"It (the game at Exeter) feels like yesterday in a way," Iyogun said.

"It's been quite the journey and one that I've relished.

"I've built some memories along the way as well.

"It's been amazing.

"I've taken loads from those memories and they've not all been good occasions.

"I've had some pretty tough games, some pretty amazing games and it's part of the experience that you get a breadth of experiences to go and put you in better stead to perform in big games.

"It's been pretty good."

Iyogun now can't wait to take to the field in the massive match against French giants Union Bordeaux-Bègles this weekend.

"It's monumental, to be honest," he said.

"To be involved in a week like this and to get the opportunity to go and make your mark in history is pretty amazing.

"I can't wait.

"I'm mega excited.

"I've never played in Cardiff, I've never been to the Principality so the lads who have been there have told me about what the stadium's like in terms of it being a closed-roof stadium, being in an almost colosseum so it's an exciting prospect for me and I can't wait to experience that."

Iyogun is a calm character and he knows composure is key in the build-up to this weekend's clash in the Welsh capital.

"I am relatively laid back but I'm pretty studious in my prep," the prop said.

"I'm very much a big believer in compounding interests, and that doing the same thing again and again will produce the same results.

"The biggest thing we take is that you don't want to change massively.

"You want to stay consistent week to week and in big games you want to be doing the same thing you'd be doing for a normal game to produce the same performance."