Ludlam: Manny relishes a challenge, he’s ready
ROOKIE Northampton prop Manny Iyogun has the ability to seize the day at Exeter and write his name into Saints folklore, according to family friend and team-mate Lewis Ludlam.
With all four of Northampton's senior loosehead's injured, academy product Iyogun, 19, is thrust into the limelight for today's Champions Cup tie – a match that will define his side's season.
Facing Test stars Harry Williams and Tomas Francis is a mighty task but Heineken Cup history is littered with heroic tales, most notably in 2007 when little-known prop Tom French was plucked from Henley and starred for Wasps in their final win over Leicester.
That same year, a Northampton side staring at Premiership relegation pulled off an astonishing, backs-to-the-wall, 7-6 quarter- final away win at French cracks Biarritz, proving domestic form can go out of the window when odds are firmly against but a shot at glory beckons.
Saints travel to Sandy Park against a similar backdrop of poor form and uncertainty, but when it comes to how Iyogun will cope in the furnace, Ludlam has no doubts.
“It's really exciting for him,” said Ludlam, right. “It was testament to him the way he came on in a local derby against Leicester last weekend and put in a good shift, so for him to go into only his third men's game in a quarter-final against Exeter is really amazing. Hopefully, it'll be one of the great stories of the young lad coming in and helping us get a tough victory there.
“He's a top guy, a family friend, and he's the sort of character who relishes a challenge and there's no bigger one out there than this.
“I have full confidence he's going to pull his weight and more. He's good enough to play at this level, it's just about let- ting himself go and ripping in.”
For Iyogun to enjoy a fairytale European debut, Ludlam knows Saints will need to be significantly better than recent results have shown, with defence and discipline crucial in the face of overwhelming odds against the high-flying, ultra-physical Chiefs.
Ludlam said: “First, you've got to match that physicality. They're a team that wants to bully you, push you around the park, force disciplinary errors, and wants to kick to the corner and maul you and scrum you. That's the basis of their game so discipline in how much we play with the ball and chances we give them at the breakdown is really important.
“It's about staying patient in defence because post-Covid we haven't been good at that. We've been giving teams too much ball and been too easy to score against, so having that confidence to defend for long periods will be crucial and we've been working on it.”
Northampton have taken heavy criticism from fans after last week's dismal derby-day defeat at Leicester, and face an uphill task.
However, England flanker Ludlam adds: “It's an exciting challenge and the pressure's off. Nobody outside of our group expects us to go there and get a result, but you don't get many chances to win trophies so we'll be looking for a big upset.
“It's not about proving a point to people outside the group, but proving a point to each other – proving that we are a good team. We can play brilliant rugby, but it's about finding that confidence to prove we can win these games.
“It doesn't come much harder than away at Exeter but to go and get a result would do absolute wonders for our confidence and we'll give it everything.”
