Mum's the word for Angus as Saints look to avoid more late drama

The black, green and gold have seen all four of their league matches go right down to the wire.

They suffered narrow losses to Sale Sharks and Bristol Bears before edging out Newcastle Falcons and Bath.

The victories came after Saints won breakdown penalties from the last play of the game, with Tom James the jackalling hero against Falcons and Sam Graham putting the seal on a 24-18 success against Bath last Saturday.

"We've had some mixed results, two wins, two losses, but the game is always decided in the few minutes so it's been exciting," said Australian flanker Scott-Young, who has started all four league matches for Saints.

"Everyone's having panic attacks at the end of our games!

"My mum often stays up until midnight back home in Australia and she's like 'Angus, you can't keep doing it to me, I can't get to sleep after your games because it's always won or lost in the last five minutes'.

"Hopefully we can change that up because it is taking a toll on the heart!

"But it's been a positive start to the season and hopefully we can just keep our winning streak going.

"We've won two on the bounce now, which is exciting, and we've got a massive challenge this weekend against Exeter."

Scott-Young has put in some big shifts for Saints this season, sticking it out until the end against Bath last Saturday.

So would he prefer to be in that position on the pitch or watching the drama unfold from the sidelines?

"It's tough either way for different reasons," he said.

"When you're on the field and the game is in the balance, I am exhausted so I feel like I can do something but I also feel like I can't move, like I'm stuck in the mud.

"If you're on the sidelines you can't do anything so there's a different kind of anxiety, but both situations are not the most comfortable."

Saints have showed real bravery at the breakdown to see off late surges from Newcastle and Bath.

And Scott-Young said: "It's awesome and the turnovers in both games were almost carbon copies of each other.

"To win the game, we needed a turnover and we got it.

"It speaks volumes for our defensive system and it doesn't really matter who gets the final jackal, someone will always be there.

"The way Radders (Lee Radford), our defence coach, has made the defensive system gives you a lot of opportunity in that space.

"You watch the last five or 10 minutes last weekend and we didn't really have any field position, they were coming hard at our line and we didn't get bored of doing the simple things right in defence.

"We kept turning up, making two-man hits, slowing the ball down and then the one time they had a lapse in clean-out, we got the turnover.

"I was obviously very excited we got the turnover and we could finally celebrate.

"They are very exciting endings and I think our defence has gone up a level this year.

"When we're looking for those jackals, we want a really clear picture to say there's no obstruction because we don't want to be giving away those silly penalties.

"There's physicality but also a lot of intelligence in knowing when to pick your moments, and this year we've homed in on what moments we want to go for, especially in that defensive breakdown area.

"We've definitely got smarter in our defence."

In such a nip and tuck Premiership, with each team playing just 18 games this season, every match counts.

And Scott-Young said: "We saw how close the leaderboard was at the end of last year so though you might dismiss a game and think it's early in the season, these games do count later in the season.

"Having those last two wins has been massive and it definitely stands us in good stead for the next few weeks."

In-form Exeter are heading to cinch Stadium at Franklin's Gardens this afternoon.

And Scott-Young said: "Another challenge and we know how Exeter play. They're a very confrontational, physical team.

"It will be good to play against Ehren Painter, a good mate of mine who has gone there.

"It's a different challenge from Bath but I do enjoy playing Exeter because when we played them here last year, it was a massive physical battle.

"Three or four of our forwards made more than 20 tackles in that game so we know it's going to be a physical game but hopefully we can put in place those good defensive habits we've put in place and show our stuff."

Painter has been a real pillar of strength for Exeter since switching to the club from Saints back in March.

And Scott-Young has kept in contact with the powerful tighthead prop.

"I've spoken him him a little bit," he said.

"He's been killing it, he's a scrummaging machine and he's a very big boy.

"He's a good lad and hopefully he's playing this weekend so I can share a beer with him after.

"Our scrum has got to be on point if we're going to go against theirs.

"We'll have to be at full capacity to handle their threats."