Saints coach Dickens picks out South-Africa born star as Castres' danger man

Assistant coach Alan Dickens has highlighted scrum-half Rory Kockott as a man Saints must be wary of when they travel to Castres on Saturday.
Alan Dickens knows Rory Kockott will be a real threat for Castres (picture: Sharon Lucey)Alan Dickens knows Rory Kockott will be a real threat for Castres (picture: Sharon Lucey)
Alan Dickens knows Rory Kockott will be a real threat for Castres (picture: Sharon Lucey)

Jim Mallinder’s men go to Stade Pierre Antoine looking to make it two wins from as matches in this season’s Champions Cup.

Stephen Myler’s last-gasp penalty helped to pick up the points against Montpellier at Franklin’s Gardens last weekend, but now Saints face another French test.

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And they will know all about South Africa-born France international Kockott, having faced Castres on eight occasions between 2010 and 2014.

“We know they’ve got a really important player, Rory Kockott,” Dickens said. “He didn’t start against Leinster last weekend, but he’s a player we hold in high regard.

“We know we’ve got to go there and look after him.

“We want to front up again.

“We were wounded after the Harlequins game, we’ve had a good result but that’s the benchmark and we want to work on that result.

“We played pretty well the last time we went to Castres and they got an intercept try, which was the difference.

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“We know what to expect going there, but the team has changed since we last played them.”

Last time Saints played at Stade Pierre Antoine, in October, 2013, they were made to pay for their profligacy as Castres ran out 19-13 winners.

Kockott kicked four penalties and converted Romain Martial’s try, which came after the wing intercepted Luther Burrell’s pass and ran 80 metres to score.

And Dickens said: “We didn’t get the rewards we worked so hard for on that day.

“It came down to an interception and that’s how close these games are in Europe.”