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Why Saracens are 'grateful' for what Saints did with Nick Isiekwe
By Liam Heagney
When it comes to the contingent of loan players Saracens sent off to play elsewhere during their year in the Championship, the name of Nick Isiekwe doesn't garner much focus compared to how Ben Earl and Max Malins were capped by England while at Bristol and Nick Tompkins continued to be chosen by Wales while at Dragons.
Northampton had a disappointing campaign last term, getting tailed off in fifth place in the Premiership and failing to fire a shot in Europe, but that didn't mean there weren't positives to be gleaned from the work put in under Chris Boyd.
Isiekwe was 19 when he was first capped by Eddie Jones in 2017 and while his England career has yet to build on his third appearance in June 2018, Saracens believed they are now reaping the reward of the year the lock spent on loan in the Premiership with the Saints rather than remaining in London for the second-tier Championship season.
The now 23-year-old, who can also pack down at blindside, is set for his sixth consecutive start this Sunday at Harlequins in Saracens' campaign back in the Premiership and he is joined in his club's starting XV by Andy Christie, another academy graduate who has also been impressing boss Mark McCall in recent weeks.
"Nick is 23 and Andy is 22 - both have come through the academy and both have been at the club for a long time," said McCall when asked how the pair have been developing. "It is wonderful for us just to see the progress that they are making.
"Sometimes it is hard. Nick, at 23, seems to have been around for such a long time and he has already achieved quite a lot and has played in some big games for us and been capped by England a couple of times. He had a constructive year at Northampton where they gave him some responsibility which we are really grateful for and he has taken some big responsibility here to call the lineouts, especially when Maro (Itoje) is not here - which is a lot of the time - and we think that is going to valuable for him in the future.
"He is a great asset, a hard worker. He is keen to get better, so he is a great guy to have back. Andy has made some big improvements over the last twelve months. He is one of the big beneficiaries of us loaning people out like Ben Earl and Nick. Andy and Sean Reffell played a lot of games in the Championship last year and Andy has just got better and better. He was very good coming off the bench against Bath, he started last weekend and he looked very comfortable. We are really happy with his progress as well."
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Latest Comments
Don't think you've watched enough. I'll take him over anything I's seen so far. But let's see how the future pans out. I'm quietly confident we have a row of 10's lined uo who would each start in many really good teams.
Go to commentsHopefully Joe stays where he is. That would mean Les, McKellar, larkham and Cron should as well. It’s the stability we need in the state programs. But, if Joe goes, RA with its current financial situation will be forced into promoting from within. And this will likely destabilise other areas.
To better understand some of the entrenched bitterness of those outside of NZ and NSW (as an example 😂), Nic, there is probably a comparison to the old hard heads of welsh rugby who are still stuck in the 1970s. Before the days where clubs merged, professionalism started, and the many sharp knives were put into the backs of those who loved the game more than everyone else. I’m sure you know a few... But given your comparison of rugby in both wales and Australia, there are a few north of the tweed that will never trust a kiwi or NSWelshman because of historical events and issues over the history of the game. It is what it is. For some, time does not heal all wounds. And it is still festering away in some people. Happy holidays to you. All the best in 2025.
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