Saints desperate to 'keep the ball rolling' in the PREM Rugby Cup

The black, green and gold are currently top of the Gallagher PREM and into the round of 16 in the Investec Champions Cup.

And Saints are clearly desperate to fight on all three fronts as they have enhanced their chances of making the semi-finals of the PREM Rugby Cup thanks to recent bonus-point wins against Leicester Tigers and Harlequins.

Next up is a trip to Newcastle Red Bulls on Friday night as Saints seek to avenge the home loss against the same side earlier in the cup campaign.

And Lockett, who captained the black, green and gold to a 40-24 win at Quins last Friday, said: "The travel makes it a tough game.

"They (Newcastle) have had a bit of rejuvenation and they're going hard after the PREM Cup so it's a tough place to go, but we'll be ready for it.

"We'll have the same amount of energy and we'll fly into it like we did against Quins.

"Once you get the ball rolling, it's hard to stop.

"We've seen in previous seasons that this group can really build some momentum for the senior group when they come back in for the run-in."

Saints had fallen 19-0 down against Quins, with prop Luke Green heading to the sin bin for a dangerous clear-out.

"It was a bit of a tough start and losing your tighthead is not easy, but we reacted really well and came in at half-time with a scoreline (19-14) that gave us a bit of life to get back into it," Lockett said.

"It's one of those because we've got to win the hard games as well as the pretty ones - and I think we've got a lot better at that as a group.

"It's more satisfying when you come out on the right side of a bit of a scrappy one.

"There were a few things in there that didn't quite stick - there were times when we looked like we were flying and the final pass didn't go to hand. It's all positive because on another day they do and the scoreline looks a lot different.

"At the end of the day, we've come out on the right side of it and we've done a lot of good stuff."

Saints had headed to the Twickenham Stoop on the back of a rare weekend off.

And Lockett said: "It's never easy (after a break) but what you've seen is people who are getting their first opportunity and they're excited for that.

"We've had a break, we've refreshed and we've come back in for an exciting opportunity.

"We didn't look flat, we looked like we had loads of energy and that's something we asked for."

Lockett was able to skipper Saints to success against Quins.

And he said: "I love it (captaincy).

"It doesn't really change my game. It's just that my messaging is perhaps slightly different.

"I lean on Sam Graham, I lean on James Ramm and they lead different areas of the game, which frees me up to play rugby."