Francis loving life at Saints as he gets set for return to action

Piers Francis says life at Saints is now 'really cool and exciting'.
Piers Francis is ready to return to actionPiers Francis is ready to return to action
Piers Francis is ready to return to action

The centre has only been able to play 40 minutes of rugby for his club so far this season due to World Cup commitments and injury.

But he is now ready to return from the shoulder problem he picked up against Lyon last month.

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And Francis can't wait to be part of a stylish Saints matchday squad once again when Leinster come calling for a huge Champions Cup clash on Saturday.

"It's really cool and really exciting here," Francis said.

"We like to be amongst each other, we like each other's company and there's a recognisable philosophy in how we're trying to play.

"It's different to most teams but it's a heck of a lot of fun to be involved in, and I think the fans appreciate that.

"We like to try to put it on the field and at the moment it's been very successful.

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"The biggest thing for us as a collective is to play well for the club and our fans.

"It's exciting for you guys to be watching the style we're playing because it's not only exciting to watch but it's successful.

"We've been quite dominant and it's about being consistent with that week in, week out."

Francis got limited game time for England at the World Cup, only featuring in the win against the USA.

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But he savoured the experience of being part of a squad that went all the way to the final, where England eventually lost to South Africa.

"The World Cup was awesome - a phenomenal experience, a great country," Francis said.

"To be amongst the team was really good for me. It was a really close group and what we really worked on was being really tight-knit. It was really genuine amongst us.

"It was a massive reason to get us where we got to.

"It was obviously a frustrating finish.

"We felt we put so much into it, we'd prepared so well, the coaches got us in such a good space and it was just disappointing at the end.

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"Inevitably everyone's going to judge you on your last game and it was the World Cup final, which didn't go as we prepared for it to.

"But it was still a cool experience.

"I was really stoked to get the start against the USA and some of my family were there under the roof.

"It was great to get my World Cup shirt and I would have liked a couple more but it was still cool to be amongst the lads to help them out where I could."