With half-an-hour gone little had gone the Saints' way as Nottingham's two tries and 10 points from fly half James Arlidge had given the Green and Whites a 20-0 lead. But the Saints fought back superbly, firstly through Jamie Elliott's injury time try at the end of the first half and then through four more in the second period.

Charlie Sadler scored twice and Junior Saints Academy centre Richard Lane rounded things off at the end of the game. The only non-Academy player who crossed the whitewash was centre Matt Cornwell, with Joe Ford contributing three conversions and a penalty.

"It was an excellent performance in the second half, although we did some good things in the first half as well," Dickens said. "The young boys did well, but they only do well with the guidance and experience of some of the senior squad.

"All of them impressed me, because it's difficult to step up to a senior team. The Senior Academy have been training with the first team squad and they all slotted in quite well."

You can see the full interview with Alan Dickens, and a post-match interview with Mark Easter, on the Saints' official Facebook page.