Hoy and Cannon have partnered each other in Wanderers and Academy matches, but the game against the Cornish All Blacks was their first together in the first team. For Cannon the evening had extra resonance, given that it was his Saints debut.

After the game Mallinder paid tribute to the pair and to the forward effort as a whole.

“We changed the front five and I was particularly pleased with the two young second rows, Phil Hoy and James Cannon on his debut,” he told TVNorthants. “They came in and did a fantastic job. The front row played well as well. They got around the field and carried a lot of ball. But apart from that they scrummaged very well, which is something that we asked.”

Hoy, 20, and Cannon, 19, were playing against a pair of Launceston locks who have been regulars in the team this season and Mallinder says that the Saints youngsters will benefit from the encounter.

“The experience will be massive,” he sais. “They’ll be the first admit that they’ve still got a lot to learn and a long way to go in this game. But it’s the experience which counts. There are some very experienced players in the opposition. It’s physical and was a very fast game of rugby out there. You just have to ask the scrum-halves trying to get to every single breakdown!”

Mallinder also commented about Alex Rae’s performance at blind-side flanker – an unfamiliar position for him this season – that culminated in his maiden Saints try.

“It was a good little experiment for him and was very good experience,” said the Saints boss. “He’s a talented player and it can only do him good playing in that position.”

You can watch the post-match interviews with Jim Mallinder and Bruce Reihana by following this link.

You can also watch interviews with Allan Robson and Travis Perkins Trade Marketing Director Linda Doughty about the new community project that was launcehed last Saturday. Just follow this link!