Iyogun so happy to be back as he gets set for exciting season at Saints

Uncapped Iyogun was due to go on tour with England, but a calf injury prevented him from featuring in the Test matches against Argentina and USA in July.

He finally returned to action last night (Friday) as he started for Saints in the 40-31 pre-season defeat to Glasgow Warriors at Scotstoun Stadium.

And Iyogun is now relishing the chance to impress again this season.

"It was a bit of a mix of feelings (during the summer) to be honest," said the 24-year-old.

"I obviously got selected to represent England and go on tour but I managed to tear my calf the day we were supposed to leave, which was quite upsetting.

"But in rugby you learn to put your problems behind you and you have to keep going.

"I've worked through my rehab, worked to mend my calf and I've got back so I'm enjoying playing again and it's exciting."

Iyogun was one of four Saints players ruled out of England's summer series as Fraser Dingwall, Ollie Sleightholme and George Furbank also missed out due to injury.

Iyogun said: "You learn when you go through injury and you're by yourself, it's pretty tough. I did an Achilles injury where I was by myself for nine months so I appreciated doing rehab and getting back with the boys.

"It definitely helps with that journey."

Saints were eventually beaten by Glasgow on Friday night, but Iyogun took plenty from the outing.

"We essentially got what we wanted out of it, in terms of putting our intent on the pitch and just going away from home and really applying ourselves," he said.

"There's a little bit in there in terms of small details but we asked ourselves after the previous game (the 40-28 win at Bedford Blues) to go out there and kick the door down. We think we've done that.

"We're looking at our maul defence because that needs to be better and we need to be quicker there.

"In terms of small details, there's some fine-tuning in terms of moving quicker.

"I know it's a pre-season fixture and your legs are heavy but at some points there we need to be moving into position quicker in order to affect the game."

Zimbabwe tighthead prop Cleopas Kundiona and Italy loosehead Danilo Fischetti made their first appearance for Saints at Scotstoun.

And Iyogun has been hugely impressed by what the summer signings have added to the Saints squad.

"They've settled in fantastically," he said.

"We've got really lucky in the fact we've got Danilo, who is an international, and Cleopas, who is also an international.

"They're both athletic freaks so they bring a new dimension to our club.

"They've settled in really well, they've applied themselves and those are people who are going to bring the front row culture forward."

Another new recruit at Saints is scrum coach Jaco Pienaar.

"He's a South African scrum coach so he's always chewing your ear off about what you think about little bits and asking your thoughts," Iyogun said.

"He brings real attention to detail, he's a man who really wants you to improve so he's really added to the setup and we look forward to seeing where he can take this group."