Forwards coach Dorian West praised a job well done after Northampton's bonus-point victory over London Irish on Sunday.
'We did a job on them,' says Northampton pack boss
Forwards coach Dorian West praised a job well done after Northampton moved up to third place thanks to a bonus-point victory over London Irish on Sunday.
Northampton beat the Exiles 30-23 thanks to a last-gasp try from a charge down in a thrilling encounter at the Madejski Stadium that saw seven tries scored in total.
"We were totally focused on London Irish today," said West. "We thought that if we turned up here and were physical that we could do a job on them and that is how it proved.
"We made a few mistakes in the first half and, with a team with so much threat out wide as London Irish, if you give them any loose ball or concede some momentum, they are going to hurt you - and that is how it proved in the first-half.
"If we tightened up a bit, it would come our way. (Stephen) Myler controlled the game well. He missed a few kicks at goal that would have made us comfortable but, on the whole, he is the same as everybody who all played well today.
"He has played consistently well for us recently and has been worth his place in the team.
"Of course, we are disappointed with certain aspects of our game where we gave them easy points to get into it but we dug in and did what we had to do to win."
Endeavour
London Irish head coach Toby Booth had apologised to the fans who made the long trip to Newcastle last week only to see them lose to the Premiership's basement club.
But there was far more endeavour and fight in them this week, and he is not giving up on a Premiership play-off place yet.
"While it's mathematically possible, we are never going to stop fighting for it and that's ultimately what we are here to do," he said:
"The performance today needed to be better, given what went on before. There was a lot of remorse shown by players for the performance in Newcastle despite very difficult conditions.
"Today, our physicality was outstanding, which it had to be against Northampton. Everyone will agree that it was a fantastic contest. It was everything that was good about the Premiership but we are bitterly disappointed with the outcome.
"We search every week for the one per cent that is going to make a difference and how we start the game is important which is what happened today."
