Foden: Saints played it too safe against Gloucester

REGRETS - Ben Foden feels Saints should have shown more attacking intent at Gloucester (picture by Hannah Weeley)

Ben Foden felt Saints ‘played it a bit safe’ against Gloucester on Saturday.

The full-back, who scored Northampton’s opening try in the dramatic 26-24 defeat at Kingsholm, was disappointed his side didn’t show more attacking intent.

Gloucester penned Saints in for long periods of the game, but the away side were still ruthless enough to score three tries.

The third effort came from a stunning burst from George North, which helped tee up Jamie Elliott for what looked to be a match-winning try.

But Billy Twelvetrees’ controversial late penalty gave Gloucester the victory, leaving Foden with a few regrets.

“I think we need to take more risks and play a bit more expansive rugby,” said the England international.

“If we get the ball into George North’s hands and Future’s (Jamie Elliott) hands we’ll cause teams problems.

“I think we played it a bit safe on Saturday. There are plenty of things to work on for us as a side.

“In the second half, we spent most of it in our own half. We didn’t exit very well and we put ourselves under a lot of pressure.

“There’s plenty of things to work on. We’ve gone away, taken some positives out of the game and we’re looking forward to putting things right on Friday against Sale.”