Lockett: I loved being back in the mix for Saints

Tom Lockett’s name had not featured on a Northampton Saints teamsheet in six months until the side faced Coventry Rugby on Saturday, and getting back up and running in Saints’ 19-10 victory was something the lock relished.

A pectoral muscle torn in preseason training kept 6’ 7” Lockett out of action as Saints started the 2024/25 campaign, and has meant the 22-year-old spent much of Northampton’s early season in the gym rather than on the field. 

But after featuring for the full 80 minutes as Saints ran in three tries to claim victory in torrid conditions at Butts Park Arena, Lockett is now determined to make up for lost time.

He said: “It’s always annoying when you come in for preseason, and after two weeks’ training you're then out injured for 12. It was nice to get back out there with the lads after being in the gym for so long.

“I loved it out there. My lungs were going a bit, but you’ve got to get one under your belt to start with.

“I did a lot of good work last season and put my best foot forward, so all I’ve got to do now is back that up.

“There was stuff I was going after in this game, physicality in defence and a decent set piece, and I think I got that, so if I can keep building on that I won’t be too far away.”

A stellar solo-effort from fullback George Hendy gave Northampton an early lead in Round 3 of the Cup, but Championship leaders Coventry showed their class in the middle third of the game and pushed back at Saints to pull 10-7 ahead.

But Northampton’s replacements sealed a third consecutive victory in the Cup competition, with front row duo Emmanuel Iyogun and Curtis Langdon both crossing the whitewash for the men in Black, Green and Gold in their cameos from the bench. 

It puts Phil Dowson’s side top of Pool B as the first block of Cup clashes draw to a close, but with Coventry proving Saints’ toughest challenge of the competition so far, Lockett insists the lessons learned in that match will stand the team in good stead as the Gallagher Premiership gets back underway.

Lockett said: “Obviously Coventry are flying in the Championship and we knew it would be a big challenge.

“Coventry are full-time and have got some players who would probably like to be playing in the Premiership, so it makes for a very competitive Cup competition.

“There’s stuff we've got to work on, but in terms of our fight and our defence and that intensity side of the game, we were really happy.

“We didn’t take the game for granted at all, we knew what we were coming into, and we knew if we were going to get a result we would have to properly bar up, and we did that.”