Wright reflects on ‘special’ moment in Saints’ comeback win

Hooker Craig Wright hailed his match-winning score against Nottingham as a ‘special moment’ in his fledgling Northampton Saints career. 

On the occasion of just his third senior appearance for the men in Black, Green and Gold, the 20-year-old clinched a 31-29 Premiership Rugby Cup victory with a barnstorming finish with 12 minutes remaining.

“I broke away from the first tackle and I didn’t blank out this time,” said the England U20 international. “I just transferred the ball, did bit of footwork and gave a fend and I finally got that try which put us in front, so I was really happy with that. 

Saints entered the match off the back of claiming maximum points in their opening round fixture Leicester Tigers.

However, Saints’ 17-game unbeaten run across the Premiership, Cup and European competitions at cinch Stadium at Franklin’s Gardens was under severe threat as the Championship visitors went in at the break 21 points ahead – with the hosts’ only points coming from an Angus Scott-Young try.

The tables turned after the break as Toby Cousins, Archie McParland, and Fyn Brown all crossed the line before Wright marched over from 22 metres out to complete the comeback. 

“We probably didn’t come out firing like we’d like to have done in the first half,” said Wright. “We spoke about dominance in the first and second half throughout the week, but we didn’t quite bring that.

“At half-time we spoke about the breakdown and making sure that it is really efficient and just ultimately playing through the holes and going through our processes. In the second half we slowly started to put our game on them. There’s things to look at from the first half, but ultimately we brought it back and that’s all that matters.

“We knew that it wasn’t up to scratch and it wasn’t our standard. Obviously it helps getting a kick up the bottom. We knew what we had to do, go to our processes, go to our systems and that brings up scores.”

Next up for Phil Dowson’s side is a short trip across the Midlands to take on Coventry, who lead Pool B on points difference after backing up their own victory against Nottingham with a bonus-point success away at Leicester Tigers on Saturday.

“We’re looking forward to it, it’s a good challenge,” said Wright. “We know how good Coventry are and how good of a performance they can put up. We focus on us, we focus on our processes and we put performances down.”

Reflecting on the Cup period so far, he added: “I am enjoying it. Every day I come out on the pitch I enjoy it, every time I train, I enjoy it, I love it, that’s what drives me and makes me a better player at the end of the day.”