Saints were 'running into a brick wall' during defeat to Exeter at Sandy Park

The black, green and gold got little joy against a determined Exeter Chiefs side, who bounced back from their 35-3 loss at Saracens with a big 35-12 win.

Fraser Dingwall and Matt Proctor scored for Saints during the second half, but they got little going as they failed to back up their 46-17 success against Harlequins six days earlier.

And Coles, who returned from concussion to start for Saints, said: "It was incredibly tough to take.

"Last weekend was the performance we'd been talking about for a while where it finally clicked.

"The challenge was to back it up, that's what we'd spoken about, trying to keep that accuracy and energy really high, but that physicality we had last week slipped down a bit.

"Exeter topped us in that area and then we just didn't play the conditions as well as them either.

"A little nod to the scrum because I thought that was excellent, and to come down here and scrum like that is really impressive.

"We let the front row down a bit because we didn't do more with the advantage they gave us.

"We had to manage the conditions and when the wind is that strong, you've got to look for other ways to get out.

"We had a few good midfield mauls, pushed our way up the pitch, but then we gave them the opportunity to do the same.

"They were just more clinical in the 22, which is a story we've heard a few times this season.

"We looked a little bit clunky in our shape, we didn't stress them enough and against a team like that, where there are five or six men in a row coming at you, you need to have something to challenge them a bit.

"It felt like we were just running into a brick wall a bit at times."