Scott-Young enjoyed seeing Saints' 'next generation' in action at Leicester

The black, green and gold took a blend of youth and experience to Mattioli Woods Welford Road for the Premiership Rugby Cup pool stage clash.

And though they were eventually beaten 54-33, there were plenty of positives for Saints to take from their performance, including the efforts of some talented teens.

Centre Billy Pasco impressed on his first start for Saints, while young wing Will Glister grabbed a try and other Academy talents got game time from the bench.

And experienced back row forward Scott-Young, who skippered Saints, said: "I just told them to not be frantic and that it was a great opportunity to get out there and play at Welford Road in a derby.

"It's probably a big game for a lot of the young guys and there were some nerves so they just had to figure out how to calm their mind to play the game.

"We saw glimpses of good things but there's obviously some development still to go.

"It was a great crowd, a great atmosphere and the rivalry is quite aggressive at times so I'm sure they will have enjoyed that experience and they'll definitely grow from it.

"It's good to see the next generation get on the park and do their stuff."

Saints fell 21-0 down inside 23 minutes but they battled back to trail by just two points at 21-19 and 28-26.

"We didn't start very well and our discipline was pretty poor from the get-go, penalty after penalty didn't help us to get into the game and get any momentum," Scott-Young said.

"But I'm proud of the way we fought back before and after half-time and there were glimpses there of if we get our shape right and play how we want to play, we can score at will.

"It's just a matter of 'how do we get our minds right to get sustained periods of our game on the pitch?'."

Leicester named a strong team that included the likes of Dan Cole, Hanro Liebenberg and Ben Youngs, while they were able to bring Solomone Kata off the bench.

And Scott-Young said: "There was Dan Cole, Ben Youngs, guys who have played around 100 Tests for England, and it's the beauty of the PRC.

"There were guys who have played international rugby for decades playing against 18, 19-year-olds and our guys did stand up to the challenge."

It was Saints' first defeat of this season's cup campaign following three successive wins at the start of the pool stages.

Next up will be Saturday's home clash with a Coventry side who sit level on points with Saints at the top of Pool 2.

And Scott-Young said: "They're a good team and it will be a physical challenge for sure back at Franklin's Gardens.

"I'm looking forward to it.

"I'm a big fan of this PRC block because we can just focus on ourselves and try to get better so we're looking forward to the challenge of Coventry this week."