“We stopped doing the hard graft up front” – Northampton’s Ken Pisi

Last week against the Dragons, Northampton ended a four-game losing streak which saw them go from unbeaten at top of the Premiership to fifth in three rounds.
The pack stopped going forward preventing them from producing good attacking ball for the back line and for Samoan flyer Ken Pisi the reasons behind it are obvious, they found themselves putting the cart before the horses.
He told The Rugby Paper: “I think we lost our way a little bit in recent weeks. The back line was doing great and we scored some tries at the start of the season but after that our game changed.
“We tried to force the decision and get the ball out wide too early without the doing the hard craft up front first.
“We scored tries in the first part of the season because the forwards were creating the space for the backs to attack.
“As a winger, it’s easier to have fewer balls to play with but get it in space. You need to earn the right to play before sending the ball to the wingers.”
However, last Sunday in Newport saw the return of the feared Saints’ scrum. They were dominant to earn themselves penalties and either score or pin the Welshmen back in their own half.
For Pisi, getting back to winning ways was crucial for the moral of the squad ahead of a tough month of December where they’ll face Ulster back-to-back in the Heineken Cup and Harlequins and Saracens in the Premiership.
He said: “The win against the Dragons was great for the moral more than anything.
“After some tough results, we went back to basics and it worked for us. Our scrum was back to its old self and we went forward which put us in the best position.
“We have to stick to it tomorrow against London Welsh in go stead before a very tough month of December which will decide what we’ll be playing for this season.”
NICK VERDIER