Emmanuel Iyogun was delighted to get back in a Northampton Saints shirt on Friday, as he featured for the first time this season in the side’s 40-31 loss to Glasgow Warriors.
The 24-year-old ended Saints’ 2024/25 campaign strongly, featuring in both the Investec Champions Cup semi-final and final and earning himself a place in England’s squad for their summer tour of Argentina and the USA.
Iyogun featured in a warm-up clash against a France XV but from there his summer plans were curtailed when a calf injury sustained in raining with England meant that he spent July and August on rehab instead of rugby.
“It was a bit of a mix of feelings to be honest,” said the loosehead prop.
“I obviously got selected to represent England and go on tour but I managed to tear my calf the day we were supposed to leave, which was quite upsetting.
“But in rugby you learn to put your problems behind you and you have to keep going.”
Emmanuel Iyogun
“I’ve worked through my rehab, worked to mend my calf and I’ve got back so I’m enjoying playing again and it’s exciting.”
Iyogun’s return saw him feature for Saints in the first half at Scotstoun, where tries from Callum Chick, Tom Pearson and George Hendy sent Saints into the sheds just two points adrift from their hosts.
A back-and-forth second half eventually ended Glasgow’s way too but Iyogun insisted that the outing was a positive one for the men in Black, Green and Gold.
He said: “We essentially got what we wanted out of it, in terms of putting our intent on the pitch and just going away from home and really applying ourselves.
“There’s a little bit in there in terms of small details but we asked ourselves after the previous game (a 40-28 win at Bedford Blues) to go out there and kick the door down. We think we’ve done that.
“In terms of small details, there’s some fine-tuning to be done to get things moving quicker.
“I know it’s a pre-season fixture and your legs are heavy, but at some points there we need to be moving into position quicker in order to affect the game.”
Iyogun has been joined in Saints’ front row by two new starters this term, with Italian and Zimbabwean internationals Danilo Fischetti and Cleopas Kundiona both arriving at cinch Stadium at Franklin’s Gardens over the summer.
They add to Saints’ other international stocks at prop of England’s Trevor Davison and Scotland’s Elliot Millar Mills, with the likes of Luke Green and Tom West also featuring alongside Iyogun there while England Under-20s star Oliver Scola and Sonny Tonga’uiha rise through the ranks.
“They’ve settled in fantastically,” Iyogun said of the newest additions to Saints’ props.
“We’ve got really lucky in the fact we’ve got Danilo, who is an international, and Cleopas, who is also an international.
“They’re both athletic freaks so they bring a new dimension to our club. They’ve settled in really well, they’ve applied themselves and those are people who are going to bring the front row culture forward.”
Another new face in Northampton this summer, scrum coach Jaco Pienaar has been adjusting to life at Saints.
And Iyogun is looking forward to working with Pienaar going forwards, saying the former Super Rugby coach is settling in well with the group.
“He’s a South African scrum coach so he’s always chewing your ear off about what you think about little bits and asking your thoughts.” Iyogun said.
“He brings real attention to detail, he’s a man who really wants you to improve so he’s really added to the setup and we look forward to seeing where he can take this group.”
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