Saints prop Waller desperate to do it all again in Premiership Rugby Cup

Waller was part of the Worcester Warriors side that saw off London Irish in the final to claim cup glory back in May.

It was the Warriors' first major trophy success in their history, and it meant so much to all involved.

Waller moved back to Saints in the summer, and the black, green and gold now have a chance to make it out of the pool stages of this season's competition.

But they know they must win at Newcastle Falcons on Saturday to stand a chance of doing that.

"It was huge to win this competition with Worcester and it was the first bit of silverware they had won in the top tier for I think forever," Waller said.

"I was involved in that final and it was phenomenal.

"It was the first bit of knockout rugby I'd had for quite some time and the jubilation when you win a competition is huge because it's a whole squad effort.

"It felt like everyone was involved and contributed to it in some way so it made it extra-special."

Waller is set to make his 100th appearance for Saints on Saturday, but he would have hoped to do that sooner.

He was forced to spend a spell on the sidelines earlier this season after suffering concussion in the game against Leicester Tigers on September 24.

And Waller has only been able to make four appearances in total, all from the bench.

"On a personal note, it's been pretty frustrating and I'd have liked to have played more than I have, but that comes down to me and what I can do to force my way into that team," Waller said.

"Hopefully this weekend will be a chance to show what I can do, but the competition is really tight in that loosehead spot at the moment so I've just got to go out there, put my game on the pitch and show why I think I should be playing.

"During that Prem Cup period where there were a lot of midweek matches, we had a loosehead injury crisis where there were a lot of concussions and people not back fit so we had to get Marty (Mulhall) for those games.

"Ironically, everyone became fit once those games had finished so it was a bit of a frustrating one on that note, but you've got to take the opportunities whenever they come now.

"Whether it's an injury and you get a chance to play in the Prem or if it's on these weekends when the Prem Cup pops up, you've got to take your chance."

Waller's injury against Leicester was certainly an unfortunate one.

He explained: "I came across to make a tackle and as I bounced up to compete, Moony (Alex Moon) got pushed and instead of trying to go round me, he's tried to hurdle me and sent the hardest part of his leg into the side of my head.

"I was gone, out, and it was 100 per cent right to go through those concussion protocols and to come back when I did.

"It was just frustrating because you get your foot in the door and it's immediately thrown back out again.

"It's epitomised the frustrating start to the year for me so far."

Despite the lack of game time, Waller has loved being back at Saints.

He said: "I've really enjoyed it and it's a good environment to be in because we're based around winning and we know that when we perform, we can beat any side.

"Unfortunately, the theme of the first part of the season has been 'how often can we do it and how long can we do it for?'.

"We've shown glimpses where we've been phenomenal and we've shown glimpses where we've shown other parts of our game and we've switched off to let other teams come back in.

"The focus for us now has really got to be on getting that performance but making sure it lasts for the whole 80.

"It's never going to be a perfect game, there's going to be ups and downs and momentum swings, but we've got to find ways to get back into the game when those momentum swings go against us."

Saints don't return to league action until they travel to Gloucester on December 3.

Phil Dowson's side face Newcastle in the cup this weekend before hosting the Barbarians a week later.

"It's come at a good time," Waller said.

"The boys who have been involved in the majority of the Premiership games deserve a bit of a rest because there have been some really physical and intense games.

"There's obviously a lot of lads who have got fit again since those cup midweek games have stopped and who are really eager to go and show the coaches what they can do.

"Going to Newcastle is never easy but with the 4G pitch and the exciting blend of experience and youth we've got this weekend, hopefully we can up there and get a good result out of it.

"If we do that, we've got a good chance of getting in the semis.

"It would be our first shot of getting some silverware this year and it's an entire squad effort.

"We want a spot in that semi-final."

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