Tom Lockett explained that the men in Black, Green and Gold are targeting a ‘strong performance’ this weekend as they face Harlequins in their final fixture of the regular Gallagher PREM season.
With last weekend’s dramatic 36-32 victory over Gloucester at cinch Stadium at Franklin’s Gardens, Saints have already locked in top spot in the PREM with a home play-off already secured for Friday 12 June.
With four teams still in the running, Saints opponents for the knock-out tie are yet to be determined, however for Lockett and the squad the focus is fully on finishing off the regular season with another positive performance.
He said: “We’ve got a great opportunity with a home play-off once we’ve played Harlequins this weekend, but we’re fully focused on Saturday.
“We find it easy to focus on the task at hand. We know we can’t get too ahead of ourselves because we know how much a strong performance at the weekend puts us in good standing.
“It’s night and day, the mood when you come in off the back of a loss compared to when you come in after a good performance.
“We’re off the back of some good results and obviously confirming top of the table is massive for us, but we want to keep the ball rolling; we don’t want to stop there.”
The 6ft 7in forward progressed through Saints’ Senior Academy ahead of the 2021/22 season and reached a half-century of appearances as a replacement in the Investec Champions Cup in January.
“I’ve put some really good rugby together and improved a lot,” Lockett continued. “I also feel like I’ve matured a lot in my role in the team. Over the last 18 months, I feel I’ve become a lot more physical and able to use my physical attributes to better effect.
“I had a block of games in March/April time where I was really happy with my performances, and that’s probably the first time I’ve done that in my career, and that’s a big step forward for me to bring that level of performance consistently at a high level. It’s something I’m happy with, and moving into the end of the season, it’s massively exciting.
Saints opponents on Saturday may be out of contention the play-offs; however, a spot in next year’s Investec Champions Cup competition is still on the line, and Lockett believes that Saints will have to be at the races to continue their fine form.
“Quins have always been notoriously dangerous,” he continued. “They will score from anywhere, and they were difficult to beat against Saracens last weekend.
“They’ve got some unbelievable players in that group, so we’ll have to be on it. We’re not taking it for granted at all, and we know we’re going to have to be on it to beat this Quins team. It’s a challenge we’re all excited for.
“Even though we’ve still been winning, there are tons of areas we can improve and put in a more complete performance than we have been. That’s exciting.
“We’ve been at a consistently very good level, and the fact that we feel there’s a lot more in us is pretty exciting, and hopefully, over the next few weeks, we can show that.”