We opened the door for Exeter - Dingwall

Fraser Dingwall joined Northampton Saints as a teenager in 2018

England centre Fraser Dingwall says Northampton Saints were guilty of allowing the "narrative to change" in their Prem Rugby draw with Exeter.

Northampton led 33-7 at the interval in their opening league game of the new season after running in five tries, but allowed the Chiefs come roaring back in the second half to tie it up 33-33.

"It was a game of two halves and unfortunately we opened the door for them in that second half, went away from all the stuff we did well in the first half," Dingwall told BBC Radio Northampton.

"We'll be very honest about it and it just shows the level you have to be at at all times in this league. Hopefully that's a stern lesson for a lot of lads."

Saints won the domestic title in 2024, but only finished eighth last season - although they did go on a run in Europe all the way to the Champions Cup final before losing to Bordeaux.

They have brought in several new players for the new campaign and one of them, 19-year-old Edoardo Todaro, marked his Prem debut with a couple of tries.

But a couple of scores early in the second half sparked Exeter's revival and Northampton were unable to stem the tide despite the backing of a home crowd.

"We stopped valuing the stuff that had got us into such a good spot in the first half, we became loose with the ball, we gave them lots of opportunities on turnover through loose kicks or weak turnovers in possession that allowed them to use their dangerous back three to catch us in transition and move the game up the pitch really easily," said Dingwall.

"There's loads of things that stack up and then all of a sudden when there's a bit of a roll on, it becomes a narrative around what a comeback this will be, that kind of feeling for the other team, and the momentum becomes really hard to contain.

"All you need, and we've been in that position before, when the game is completely against you and no-one expects you to win is a glimmer of hope."

He said Saints were too slow to move the ball up the pitch on a number of occasions, "not really going anywhere" through multiple phases of play.

It was all a marked contrast to their first-half display, which Dingwall hopes they can repeat when they go to Gloucester on Sunday to try to "kick the door down at their place".

The 26-year-old added: "That's the horrible thing about it, the first half was really good, we did loads of great stuff and we were as abrasive and combative as we want to be.

"But you've got to do it for 80 minutes because every team in this league can punish you if you're not in a place where you're ready to scrap harder."