Saints Q&A: Tom Vickers talks to key forward Curtis Langdon

This time a year ago he was coming to terms with being sidelined for a lengthy spell after suffering a shoulder injury at the end of the 2024/25 campaign.

Langdon would not return to play again until March this year, meaning he had to be patient, combining some media work with his recovery.

The hooker returned to play his part in a campaign that would eventually end with him lifting his second Gallagher PREM title with Saints as he started the final three matches of the season after having to overcome a thumb problem he picked up at Bath in April.

Langdon enjoyed a summer of rest and recuperation as he looked forward not only to another season with Saints, but also to becoming a father.

He and his partner Emily welcomed son George John Langdon into the world on September 21, five weeks earlier than expected, with Langdon posting on Instagram 'he (George) didn't want to miss the first league game of the season'.

Langdon has gone on to start all four PREM matches so far this term, and this week he took some time to discuss a variety of topics with this publication…

Q: What's the mood ahead of the Gloucester game on Saturday evening?

A: "There was a lot of frustration off the back of last week (the 28-7 loss at Leicester Tigers). We were pretty happy with how we went in the first half, but in the second half we lost momentum, discipline wasn't good enough, set piece probably wasn't good enough either. This week we're just focusing on ourselves: our process, our system, throwing ourselves into that and we're confident if we do that, we'll get the win back at home against Gloucester."

Q: How much did that second half hurt last Saturday?

A: "Losing to Leicester always hurts. We spoke about not getting a win at Bristol for the past few years and that being one we really wanted to get after so we were disappointed there. We spoke about Leicester as well, with that being a tough fixture for us over the past couple of years, and we wanted to get a win in that one again, hugely, so to not get that was disappointing. But there's a lot of lessons to take from that game, in terms of playing in those bad conditions and positives as well from the first half in terms of how good our set piece can be and our defence can be. We'll take those lessons and it will make us stronger going into the next couple of rounds."

Q: What have you made of Gloucester so far this season?

A: "They've been good! They've been very good this season and they're top of the table for a reason. Their defence last week against Bath was really good, down to 13 men, keeping that Bath team out was impressive. Similar to Leicester, they go hard after their lineout, maul and their scrum. I'm just excited because after a loss like last weekend, you come in on the Monday and you're ready to play the game straight away. I've felt that in training. The England lads have been in camp but the rest of the lads have come in on Monday and they're champing at the bit, ready to go, excited about being back at home and playing Gloucester this weekend."

Q: What have you made of Gloucester's development?

A: "Boydy (Chris Boyd) has done a good job there and they've got the two Welsh lads (Jac Morgan and Dewi Lake) who have come in - Jac Morgan was really good against Bath. So it's going to be a test this weekend but we expect it to be and we're looking forward to that."

Q: How much do you watch of other PREM matches when you're not involved in a game yourself?

A: "I try to watch as many as possible. Especially if we're playing on a Saturday, I tend to try to watch the Friday night game. George (his son) loves watching it with me as well now, so he'll be fast asleep on my lap while I'm watching the game. I play rugby because I love the game and I love watching it as well."

Q: How keen are you all to prove a point after what happened last weekend?

A: "Every game we go into, we want to win. But we learned some lessons last week and we're looking forward to righting some wrongs this weekend back at home. It's the last game of this block as well so we can throw everything into this and then go into the PREM Cup."

Q: How has your season been so far?

A: "It's been good. I've enjoyed getting some good minutes on the pitch after a frustrating first three quarters of last season with injury. I'm just really enjoying being out there with the lads and excited about what we can achieve this season."

Q: You're a father now so does that mean you're feeling older and wiser?

A: "I'm not sure about that! To be honest, not a load has changed. Emily, my girlfriend, has been really good, getting up throughout the night. I've had plenty of sleep, I'm not sure she has had much. The only thing that's changed is that I come home from a hard training day and I've got George there with my girlfriend so it's easy to switch off and enjoy time with them, which has been nice."