Fraser Dingwall: Northampton Saints focused on creating ‘ultimate performance’

Northampton Saints centre Fraser Dingwall believes they have the intensity to keep their challenge for honours on two fronts going.

Before that it is back to league action on Saturday and a home East Midlands derby against Leicester Tigers.

“We’re top of the table so they’ll be coming for us. We won’t shy away from that challenge,” Dingwall said.

“I’m trying to stay very much like game to game and with that how we can just create ultimate performance because that’s what’s given us results.

“Fortunately, we’re in a place where if we don’t quite get our performances right… we still pick up results,” he told BBC Radio Northampton.

Northampton are five points clear at the top of the Premiership despite losing 26-17 at Welford Road in November, while the seventh-placed Tigers need a repeat of that win to maintain their own play-offs push.

Dingwall said: “They did us earlier in the season so this whole week will be building to a big old clash on Saturday.

“They’ve had a good run against us and it bugs us a little bit – well, it bugs me anyway.”

The 25-year-old scored one of Northampton’s nine tries against South African side Bulls in their Champions Cup quarter-final, although he admitted their performance was not perfect.

“The game was a little bit frustrating, it didn’t look like we wanted it to look but to get through to a semi-final, you’ve got to enjoy those moments,” Dingwall said.

“We got some things right but there was a lot of our game that didn’t really look like us. We really struggled to move the game out of our back end and there was a lot of looseness in there.”

But he added: “There’s been a lot of good memories for us in Europe already and to have a semi-final at Croke Park, I’m sure it will be rammed and such a special occasion. We’re going there with full intent to get a result.”