Lockett looks to back up breakthrough season after returning to Saints action

And he's now ready to keep building as he bids to back up his breakthrough campaign in black, green and gold.

Lockett rose to prominence last season, making 15 appearances, seven of which were starts.

But a pectoral injury picked up during pre-season training meant he was sidelined for the formative stages of the current campaign.

He finally got the chance to return to action in the Premiership Rugby Cup clash with Coventry, starting in the second row as Saints claimed a 19-10 win at Butts Park Arena.

And Lockett said: "It was nice to get back out there with the lads after being in the gym for so long.

"It's always annoying when you come in for pre-season and after two weeks you're out for 12.

"I loved it out there.

"My lungs were going a bit but you've got to get one under your belt to start with, haven't you?

"My body was obviously going to be a bit achey and I'll feel it now but I'm happy that I got some good shots in and I'm happy with how the game went.

"I did a lot of good work last season and put my best foot forward so all I've got to do now is back that up.

"There was stuff I was going after in this game, physicality in defence and a decent set piece, and I think I got that so if I can keep building on that I won't be too far away."

Saints showed real fight to see off a determined Coventry side who are currently top of the Championship and who had won their opening two cup matches.

The conditions were tough at Butts Park Arena as wind and rain whistled around the sold-out venue.

But Lockett said: "We always speak about it and our training pitch probably has the strongest winds in the entire world so when we come to these conditions we know what to expect.

"We trained almost every scenario so we're ready for whatever conditions we come into.

"We're happy to back our processes and it gets us out of trouble.

"Obviously Coventry are flying in the Championship and we knew it would be a big challenge.

"We didn't know what the weather was going to be like, but coming here and playing Cov at home is always a tough one.

"There's stuff we've got to work on but in terms of our fight and our defence and that intensity side of the game, we're really happy.

"We didn't take the game for granted at all, we knew what we were coming into and we knew if we were going to get a result we would have to properly bar up and we did that.

"Coventry are full-time and have got some players who would probably like to be playing in the Premiership so it makes for a very competitive cup competition."