Craig praises contribution of experienced lock Thornbury at Saints

The Irish lock joined back in September and has gone on to make five appearances.

He produced an impressive performance last Saturday, helping to lead the way as Saints roared back from 26-5 down at half-time to beat Nottingham 31-29 in a Premiership Rugby Cup clash at cinch Stadium at the Gardens.

And Craig, a former lock who won the Premiership title with Saints in 2014, said: "Gav's an unbelievably high-quality player and he was knocking in and around the Ireland squad. Had it not been for injuries he'd probably have been capped such is his quality as a rugby player.

"He's excellent with our young players because he's a very calming presence who will be direct if he needs to be direct.

"His manner, his way with the group has been excellent and those younger guys will have learned a lot from him.

"We'd love to keep him around for a bit longer but he's going to head elsewhere in a few weeks."