Saints forwards relishing physical battle against Exeter

The black, green and gold suffered a dramatic 43-41 Investec Champions Cup quarter-final defeat at The Rec.

And Prowse and his fellow forwards feel they must lift the physicality levels on their return to Gallagher PREM this Saturday (kick-off 3.05pm).

“We always know it's going to be a physical encounter going down to Exeter so we're really up for that, especially after what happened last week at Bath,” the Saints lock said.

“It's probably going to be a similar sort of challenge really, which we probably weren't quite at from a forwards perspective against Bath.

“We're really looking forward to that physical challenge this week.”

On the defeat at Bath, in which Saints had led 35-14, Prowse said: “Obviously we were very disappointed to lose that game because we felt it was in our grasp and there's obviously stuff to work on defensively when we're conceding 43 points.

“We're going hard after that so hopefully come semi-final, final time in the PREM we're able to right those wrongs.”

Prowse came on late on against Bath.

And when asked what he felt went wrong during the second half, he said: “I'm not sure.

“We allowed them to score too easily and if you look at two of their tries, they're off tap penalties, one, two phases and we've had to work hard for our points.

“I don't really know what the difference was (in the second half) to be honest.”

Losing at Bath reinforced the need for home advantage in the PREM play-off semi-finals.

And Saints can take a big step towards that goal if they can beat an Exeter side who are also eyeing a top-two finish.

“We've got six games left to try to get a home semi-final, which is going to be massively important because the difference that makes in those big games is huge,” Prowse said.

“We're just taking it one game at a time and really looking forward to it.”

So what's the mood been like at Saints this week?

“Probably still a bit sore mentally on Monday and you're pretty gutted reviewing it (the game at Bath), but we learn our lessons and we can't dwell on it because we've got six games left and we need to do what we can in those.

“We've got an eight-day turnaround, which is nice because it helps us to get out bodies right.

“Especially this late in the season, we need to get our bodies right as much as we can going into these big games.”

Prowse has racked up 20 appearances so far this season as his presence in the first team squad at Saints continues to increase.

“I've been really enjoying it,” said the 25-year-old.

“It's been enjoyable to be involved so much, especially when we're doing well.

“I just love being part of this group really.”

Prowse says the faith the coaches have shown in him, especially during his transition from tighthead to lock, has been a key reason for his strong showings.

“That faith is absolutely huge,” he said.

“There's no way I would have been able to do a transition from tighthead to second row without complete belief from the coaches that I'd be able to make it work.

“That runs through the squad with everyone.”

The likes of Prowse and JJ van der Mescht are not just enforcers for Saints, they are ball players, too.

“First and foremost, the physicality side is what gives you the ability to do those nice things, passing the ball,” Prowse said.

“You need to be a threat physically first, but it's a good brand of rugby and I really enjoy it.”