Lockett man of the match award 'celebrated like win at Leicester' by Saints squad

That is because several squad members made their way along a well-trodden path to Goldington Road to play for Bedford Blues in their 38-17 win against London Scottish in the Championship Cup.

James Grayson made his long-awaited return from a foot injury in that match, starting at full-back, while Joel Matavesi scored after coming off the bench to mark his comeback in style.

There was a man of the match showing from lofty lock Tom Lockett as the Saints boys showed their worth against a Scottish side that contained plenty of quality, such as Harlequins centre Lennox Anyanwu.

And it was a good chance for some Saints players and coaches to watch their colleagues in action as they sampled a beverage or two while taking the game in from the sidelines.

"We had a coaches' night out down to Bedford on Friday night and we managed to watch that game, which was great," said Saints assistant coach Matt Ferguson.

"It's a different feeling to watch a game with a glass of lemonade in your hand rather than a water bottle and it was really pleasing to see some of our young and more experienced players returning there.

"That relationship we have with Bedford is really fruitful and I actually thoroughly enjoyed being there because there are not many better places to watch rugby on a Friday night than at Bedford."

Ferguson was delighted to see the likes of Grayson and Matavesi making their way back from injury, but he says the biggest celebration was reserved for a few days later as the Saints squad savoured Lockett's star man showing.

"We had Tom Lockett playing and he picked up his first ever man of the match award, which was celebrated hugely in our team meeting on Monday, as much as the recent victory against Leicester was," Ferguson said.

"That kind of shows where this squad is because there was a genuine sense of achievement and pride that Tommy Lockett had gone and picked up his first man of the match on a Friday night playing for Bedford.

"We also got crucial game time into players like Jimmy Grayson and Joel, who we need pushing on for first-team honours as soon as they can. It's crucial and you're actually seeing these guys in really competitive matches at Bedford."

In fact, the full weekend, which Saints had off as it was a league-wide bye weekend, was something of a busman's holiday for Ferguson as he spent most of it watching rugby.

"I got all the Six Nations in, managed to get a bit of family time and it was good," Ferguson said.

"What you forget is what a normal weekend looks like. We're lucky we get a day off in the week and one at the weekend, but having two days off at the weekend means you actually feel like you get a break and there was plenty of rugby to watch on TV!"