Saints duo sign new deals

Northampton Saints have announced that first-team players Tom Collins and Lewis Ludlam have signed new deals to remain at Franklin’s Gardens.

Collins, 23, and 22-year-old Ludlam have both made huge progress since graduating from the Saints Academy, and are now valuable contributors to the first-team squad.

Northampton-born winger Collins broke into the first team in the 2013-14 season, having won the Six Nations with England Under-20s earlier that year and became a key cog in the Saints squad that claimed a Premiership and European Challenge Cup double.

Since then flyer Collins has continued to impress on the field for the first XV, and also scored twice in the Aviva A League final last term as Northampton Wanderers lifted the trophy following victory over Gloucester United.

Ludlam meanwhile made his first-team debut last season during the Anglo-Welsh Cup, and after being part of the same A League success as Collins, made a big impression on his first Premiership start.

The dynamic back-row, who started out as a centre before finding his home in the pack, scored at Twickenham to mark the personal landmark in style and cap off a fine individual performance – and has delivered several accomplished performances in the Premiership and European Champions Cup since.