Dingwall eager to make Saints return this weekend

A frustrating autumn had a positive end for Fraser Dingwall, and the Northampton Saints centre is now looking forward to returning to action for the Club ahead of a crucial run of games.

Dingwall has been named on the hosts’ bench for tomorrow’s match against Gloucester at cinch Stadium at Franklin’s Gardens, which will be the first time he has featured for Saints since the victory over Harlequins in the first week of October.

After that game, the 25-year-old suffered a knee injury that not only ruled him out of the rest of Saints’ first block of Gallagher Premiership fixtures, but also led to him missing out on the Autumn Nations Series with England.

It was a cruel blow for a player who would been in contention for a spot in Steve Borthwick’s midfield at the end of a year where he has made his international breakthrough.

There was, however, the silver lining of being chosen to captain England A against Australia A two weeks ago, which gave him the opportunity to get himself back up to speed, even if that didn’t go entirely to plan, either.

Dingwall said: “It’s been frustrating period for me, with my knee injury wiping me out for the autumn, getting picked for the ‘A’ game and then picking up a head knock that knocked me back for another week.

“It hasn’t been the autumn that I hoped for, but in the same sense these things happen.

“I’m quite fortunate compared to other boys with injuries, especially those knocking around here at the Club at the moment.

Dingwall was one of six Saints players to feature for England A against their Australian counterparts with Tom Pearson, Henry Pollock, Curtis Langdon, Emmanuel Iyogun and Archie McParland also playing in the 38-17 victory at the Twickenham Stoop.

Dingwall, who currently has two senior England caps, said: “It was a really enjoyable week, to come across a group of players, some you don’t necessarily play with much at all and some boys you spend a bit of time training with or play a lot against.

“We kept it pretty simple and played, and had a good positive week, it was cool.

“I thought we did good job and put ourselves forward, whatever stage of our careers we were at, whether that’s selection for England or Prem sides. I thought everyone gave a really good account of themselves.”

With the Autumn Nations Series over and done, it’s back to the Premiership, albeit for one week only, with a free-flowing Gloucester set to provide a much firmer test than the makeshift outfit that was beaten 90-0 at cinch Stadium in May last season.

The match kicks off a vital month for Saints, who are not only looking to push themselves up from seventh in the table but also make a winning start in the Investec Champions Cup.

Dingwall said: “I think we’ve been pretty good at refreshing around this Prem Cup period – we’ve been very focused on that and the opportunities that has given to people.

“Hopefully we get a good feel around the group and perform each week.”

In a way, the Gloucester of this season could be compared to Saints of around two or three years ago, in that they provide an attacking threat from anywhere on the pitch but also leak tries at the other end.

Their new half-back pairing of Wales internationals Tomos Williams and Gareth Anscombe has gone a long way towards firing their new expansive style of play, which Dingwall is looking forward to coming up against.

He said: “The whole outlook across the club has just shifted and they’ve obviously made a very deliberate change.

“But it’s also just really good to see that clubs are actually trying to win games through positive attacking rugby and I just think that’s good for the game, it’s good for players and it makes things much better to watch.”