Tom Lockett: Northampton Saints lock says Bedford game time will help in cup semi

Tom Lockett was at Colchester United FC's academy before switching to rugby union

Northampton Saints second row Tom Lockett believes league experience with Bedford Blues will help him deal with the pressure of a cup semi-final.

Saints take on London Irish on Friday in the last four of the Premiership Rugby Cup, which they last won in 2019.

The Exiles won 28-26 when the two sides met in the group stage in September.

"I've played for Bedford for the last few weeks and it'll be nice to put on a Saints shirt and try and replicate some of that form," said the 6ft 8ins lock.

"There's a lot of boys chomping at the bit to play some rugby and the chance to go to Bedford and play in a competitive league where there's a lot of big, physical packs is invaluable for someone like me.

"There's a lot of technical things I've improved, especially around set-pieces," he told BBC Radio Northampton.

After being introduced as a replacement in that close-fought group-stage encounter with London Irish, the 20-year-old started the next three games as Saints progressed as runners-up, and scored his first try for the club in a 49-29 victory over Harlequins.

They clinched their place in the last four with a tough 31-28 away win against Newcastle Falcons, and Lockett hopes to keep his place for Friday's game.

"I feel we've played some good rugby, scored some great tries, but we've also been gritty and physical when we've had to," he said.

"We went to Newcastle and ground out a win which was massive for us as a group, confidence-wise. We knew we could play the flashy, attacking rugby Saints are known for but to get a real gritty away win was a big thing."

He made his Northampton debut against London Irish in last season's competition, which ended in a 36-26 defeat.

Lockett added: "To have that taste of senior rugby was awesome. I've had more of an involvement this year, with more starts and more minutes, and it's nice to test myself against better players when the tempo is high and the physicality is at the same level.

"It's a semi-final and there's only thing better than a semi but we've still got to trust in the process that's got us to this point. If we stick to that same process week in and week out, it doesn't really matter whether we're playing a semi-final or a normal game, we'll be in a pretty good place."