Langdon is quick to make his point

NORTHAMPTON have placed an emphasis this season on putting pace in the legs of their players and that suits Curtis Langdon, a hooker in a hurry. 

- PAUL REES

The 26-year old was one of dozens of players caught up in last season’s Premiership upheaval when Worcester folded months after he had joined from Sale.

He secured a short-term deal with Montpellier but was determined to return to England and add to the two England caps he won against the USA and Canada in the summer of 2021. When Northampton made their move, Langdon needed no persuading.

“I took a lot from my time in France where the set-piece is massive,” he said. “I like to think my scrum and lineout are better for it, but I have improved again because of the quality of the coaching team at Northampton.

“When I joined there were parts of my game they and I wanted to work on and and Sam Vesty in attack, Lee Radford in defence and Matt Ferguson with the set-pieces are a big reason why we are playing really good rugby this year.”

Northampton lead the Premiership with a home clash with Gloucester and a trip to Bath to complete the regular season and next Saturday they are at Croke Park in Dublin taking on Leinster in the Champions Cup semi-final.

“We believe in ourselves here and feel we have the quality to go on and win things,” said Langdon. “When we were away to Munster, down to 14 men and behind on scoreboard, we felt we could get job done at a top side and we did. We need to keep the momentum going if we are serious about winning trophies.”