Northampton Saints: Jim Mallinder pleased with son Harry's progress

Harry Mallinder has scored a try in both of his Northampton appearances

Northampton Saints director of rugby Jim Mallinder is delighted with how his son Harry is maturing as a player.

Centre Mallinder, 19, crossed as Saints beat Scarlets to take them through to the European Champions Cup last eight.

"He was pretty good. He's not played in the Premiership yet so it was a big ask to play in Europe," said Jim Mallinder.

"But we've seen what he can do, I've seen it in [reserve] games, he's been doing it for a long time but matured, particularly over the last year."

Mallinder Jr, who stands 6ft 5ins tall, is a former pupil of Rugby School and has progressed to the Saints first-team squad after playing for them at the World Club Sevens as a 17-year-old.

His father told BBC Radio Northampton: "I think he's really enjoyed being around good players who have helped him in training.

"It's nice to have a 12 who can kick, can take the ball to the line and can distribute."

Northampton's 22-10 win over their Welsh opponents was enough to see them through as runners-up in Pool Three, as other results went their way.

"We were very aware we needed the bonus point," said boss Mallinder.

"We refused to go out and play sevens rugby from the start because that doesn't get you anywhere.

"We knew we needed a disciplined performance, the scrum and our forwards to get on top, to play territory because handling wasn't easy."