Dowson discusses Lomani's departure from Saints as Fiji ace's new club is confirmed

The club announced Lomani's exit on Monday and it was later confirmed that he will be linking up with Fijian Drua in Super Rugby Pacific with immediate effect.

Lomani was only able to make five appearances for Saints, all of which came from the bench.

He joined from Melbourne Rebels last summer but was unable to secure a regular first-team starting spot as Alex Mitchell has kept a tight hold of the No.9 shirt, with Tom James often the preferred back up option.

And when asked about Lomani's departure, Dowson, who takes over as Saints director of rugby this summer, had nothing but praise for the player.

"The frustrating thing with Frank is that he made great strides, he's a cracking player, a great bloke, but he just wasn't playing enough in this environment," Dowson said.

"Sam (Vesty) and I both said we wish we had more time with him to really see him flourish and play in the Premiership because I'm sure he'll be excellent.

"I'm sure he'll be back (in the Premiership) at some point because he is so good.

"But unfortunately he wasn't playing enough in this environment so to give him the best opportunity to get better you don't just want to be training every week, you want to be playing.

"He wants to be on the international stage as well, and playing in Super Rugby Pacific is great for him because he'll be playing week in, week out.

"We'll miss him because he's been great around the environment."