'The effort and desire is there' - skipper Ludlam reflects on Saints' loss to Munster

The black, green and gold have failed to pick up a single point during December, losing to Gloucester in the Gallagher Premiership and La Rochelle and Munster in the Heineken Champions Cup.

Saints have struggled to take their chances, scoring just 37 points while shipping 97, but Ludlam insists it isn't for a lack of trying.

Following Sunday's defeat to Munster, in which Saints were unable to score despite the Irish giants being hit by three second-half yellow cards, Ludlam spoke with his trademark passion.

He said: "It was really frustrating because we fixed up a lot of the errors we wanted to fix up from the previous week.

"In terms of being cagier and being harder to score against, it was really good, but the reality is that they converted their points and we didn't.

"We had heaps of territory, heaps of possession but couldn't quite convert that into points, which is the frustrating thing.

"I hate to keep banging the drum on the effort and desire being there, but it is and that's a positive thing.

"We just need to keep fixing our game up because we were better than the previous week and in the New Year we'll be better and the following week we'll be better again.

"We just need to keep learning our lessons and see where it gets us, but in terms of effort and desire, I can't ask for more from these boys because they have been brilliant."

Ludlam and several of his Saints team-mates were involved in an old school off-the-ball scrap with Munster.

It resulted in Ludlam and Munster flanker Jack O'Donoghue being sent to the sin bin by French referee Pierre-Baptiste Nuchy.

"It was a little bit of fisticuffs on the floor, the boys react and then there were two yellow cards for it, which I felt were unfair if I'm honest," Ludlam said.

"I don't know why we got yellowed and it's hard to understand with a French referee as well so it's frustrating but it is what it is and the boys adapted really well.

"We got fired up, we got stuck into them and we spent loads of time down there (in the Munster 22), enough time to win the game but we didn't and that's the end of it."

Saints were denied a penalty try during the second half as Craig Casey took James Ramm out in the air.

But Ludlam said: "Could have, should have but it was one moment in a long period of play down in their 22.

"All we can look at is ourselves here and we need to be better at converting points in the 22.

"That was one opportunity that went amiss and all we can do is look at ourselves and converting points in the way that we can.

"We can only control the things we can control, and that's it."