After featuring in his first rugby match in 2025 in the last round of the Premiership Rugby Cup, Emmanuel Iyogun is looking forward to getting back into a Saints shirt this weekend as Northampton embark on their first knock-out match of the season.
The men in Black, Green and Gold play host to Championship side Ealing Trailfinders for the first time after securing a home tie in the quarter-finals with a 66-33 victory over Nottingham Rugby in the last round.
The game marks Saints first outing in the competition’s knock-out stages since 2019 – where the men in Black, Green and Gold would eventually go on to lift the trophy on home soil after defeating Saracens 23-9 in the Final.
Iyogun signed on with Saints a season later and now the 24-year-old prop is relishing the chance to replicate that success in the competition, as well as another opportunity to run out at cinch Stadium – though understands that defeating the Championship leaders will be no mean feat.
“You always love playing at home so to get that opportunity was pretty awesome,” said Iyogun.
“Ealing are a team we don’t underestimate. They’re obviously a very big team in the Championship and they’re used to winning. They’ll be coming here looking to challenge us in every aspect and we’ll relish that.
“There’s quite a few former Saints who have gone to Ealing so there’s going to be a lot of old rivalries there.
“And Ealing are no mugs, they’re a good team. Nothing in our preparation indicates that we’re taking them lightly.”
Emmanuel Iyogun
“We’re preparing exactly as we would for a Premiership team and we focus very much on our performance rather than the team we’re playing.”
Iyogun is no stranger to knock-out matches, having featured in all of Saints’ appearances in the Investec Champions Cup and Gallagher Premiership knock-outs last term – including the Premiership Final where Saints defeated Bath 25-21.
That day, Northampton would lift their first silverware since claiming the Premiership Rugby Cup five years prior and the chance to add to Saints’ trophy cabinet is not one Iyogun or his teammates are letting pass them by.
“Any week when you get the opportunity to go out there and challenge for silverware, it’s a privilege,” Iyogun said.
“We know we’ve got a pretty special opportunity that’s presented itself to us so the boys are raring to go.
“We had some gritty games in the pool stages and we stuck our teeth into them. We embraced them fully and got what we wanted out of those performances.
“We haven’t forgotten that we’ve worked really hard to get this opportunity.
“We deserve to be here and it’s an opportunity we’re going to try to take with both hands in terms of producing a performance on Saturday that we can be really proud of.”
Emmanuel Iyogun
“This competition is a springboard into the Premiership and it’s like every game is now a knockout game.
“It’s something we understand so it’s very important that we use this competition from a performance and preparation point of view to then go into the Prem and understand that actually the games we play are extremely important in potentially pushing into the top four and going into Europe.”
Iyogun added: “It’s been a pretty decent season for me.
“It’s been a bit choppy in terms of getting a decent run at the start of the season and then getting an injury in the Sarries game (in December).
“I’ve had to get my head down and get that rehab process done.
“I feel I’ve come back in pretty decent nick so I need to string some performances together and see where that takes me.”
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