Scrum-half Fotuali’i praises the power of Saints’ pack

The Northampton forwards ground Worcester down last weekend, with a penalty try and two scores from No.8 GJ van Velze earning a 30-14 win at Franklin’s Gardens.

It was the latest in a long line of impressive performances up front from Saints as they have enhanced their chances of glory in the LV= Cup and Aviva Premiership.

And scrum-half Fotuali’i couldn’t be happier to be cajoling a set of forwards who are steamrollering opposition sides.

“Us backs can’t do too much without the ball and our forwards are always going forward at the moment,” said the Samoan star.

“It makes our backs look really good on that front foot ball.

“Every backline wants a forward pack that does the hard yards and gives them good quality ball.

“At this time of year, we get a bit tighter in the forwards, but we’ve also got some great backs, some great ball carriers in the midfield so we’ve just got to get a pattern.

“We’ve got to use our forwards, use our backs and share the workload that Kingy (attack coach Alex King) has instilled as part of our attacking play.”

Next up for the Saints pack is a trip to Newcastle on Sunday, with plenty of power likely to be needed against a gritty set of Falcons forwards.

But Fotuali’i believes he and his team-mates are capable of adapting to the Kingston Park conditions.

He said: “We’ve got to treat each week differently because we’re playing different teams with different strengths, but now the weather’s a bit colder and wetter we’ve got to change the way we play and adapt to the conditions.

“I haven’t been to Newcastle myself but the boys who have say it’s a tough place to play and we’ve got to make sure we adjust to whatever conditions there are up there.”