Coles: Plenty to work on despite win over Exeter

Northampton Saints lock Alex Coles insists the men in Black, Green and Gold still have plenty to work on ahead of next Friday’s visit of Harlequins, despite a victory over Exeter Chiefs on Saturday.

Phil Dowson’s side held off a late fightback from Chiefs at cinch Stadium at Franklin’s Gardens to claim a 30-24 win – their first victory of the new Gallagher Premiership season.

Saints got off to a fast start and stretched out first a 13-0 lead, and then a 30-10 advantage either side of half-time, thanks to tries from Coles, Chunya Munga and Rory Hutchinson as well as 15 points from the boot of fly-half Fin Smith.

But two Exeter scores in the final 20 minutes from Immanuel Feyi-Waboso made the final few moments of the match uncomfortable for the capacity crowd inside cinch Stadium, and Coles called on his teammates to tighten a few areas up ahead of a massive clash against Quins this Friday evening.

“As a team, I felt like we started sharply, and we were really happy with the first 60 minutes or so – but we’ve got a few things to fix up from the closing stages,” he said.

“You know what you’re going to get with Exeter. They are always a very physical team, filled with some very big boys, with hard-running centres and wingers who like to get involved in the middle of the pitch.

“So, you have to front up against the Chiefs, especially inside your own 22 where they come at you very direct.

“We had a couple of defensive sets where I thought we were really excellent, even the one which ended in that yellow card – we went through so many phases where we were fronting up and knocking them back, and if you’ve got that built into your team, it’s going to be huge over the course of the season.

“So, in front of our amazing supporters here in Northampton we need to be picking up a lot of home wins, putting on a good show for them, and then trying to pick some teams off on the road as well.”

Coles got the match off to a stunning start for Saints, after Curtis Langdon’s pass freed Juarno Augustus to burst through Exeter’s defensive line, before the South African No.8 found the English lock on his shoulder to score the game’s opening try.

It was Coles’ first appearance of the season after recovering from injury, and his first try since scoring against the Bulls in April.

He said: “It felt great to get my hands on the ball and get over the line so early on.

“It’s felt like a long time since I’ve played, I’ve spent a lot of time just training and getting back to full fitness, so I wanted to get involved as early as I could.”

Still only 25 years old, Coles already has 113 senior Northampton appearances under his belt, and the second row is one of a number of homegrown players now in leadership positions within the squad.

And the seven-cap England international is adamant that the men in Black, Green and Gold are not lacking for leaders within this year’s squad of players, despite several senior players moving on from cinch Stadium at Franklin’s Gardens over the summer.

“A lot has been said about a few senior guys leaving over the summer and leadership within our group, but I think that actually last year, the fact we had the likes of Courtney Lawes, Lewis Ludlam, Alex Waller in the squad actually overshadowed some of the leadership credentials of other people,” he said.

“Behind the scenes, a lot of individuals had a massive impact. Furbs [George Furbank] captained brilliantly last year and we had a great run with him leading us out.

“Then you’ve got Fraser Dingwall, who is such a mature head, and Sam Graham who is a figurehead within the pack now – just to name a few.

“There’s a really good core of players who might not have been seen as leaders previously, but they’ve always played that role, and now they’re just stepping into a bit more responsibility.

“There’s no dearth of leadership whatsoever, we’re just all taking on a bit more and are very happy to be doing so.”