Northampton Saints forwards coach Dorian West has suggested that his team wanted to play expansive rugby against Gloucester, but could not afford to in poor conditions.
At a rain-soaked Franklin's Gardens on Friday night, 15 points from the boot of stand-off Stephen Myler proved decisive as the hosts picked up only their second victory of the Aviva Premiership season against the Cherry and Whites.
However, West has claimed that the secret to Northampton's 15-3 triumph lay in their ability at the set-piece.
"Some of the games we looked at with Gloucester they've gone pretty well in the scrum so we knew it was going to be a tough contest. With the techniques we've talked about during the week though, we thought we'd have a good chance - and it worked out that way.
"Last week away from home (against Glasgow Warriors) you need a good set-piece to win games at quality sides, and it proved like that. Conditions were shocking tonight so you're not going to play any rugby.
"We've got lads in the team who want to play rugby, we're pretty positive without our outlook in the game, but sometimes you've got to bite the bullet when it's not the right conditions. I thought we tried a little bit too hard on occasions and we could have perhaps put them under a bit more pressure."
Saints got their Champions Cup campaign off to a flying start this month after wins over Scarlets and the Warriors.
Chris O'Keefe
