Northampton Saints coach Jim Mallinder relieved after LV= Cup win

Jim Mallinder: led Saints to last year's Heineken Cup final

Northampton coach Jim Mallinder admitted he was relieved to come away with a victory over Newport-Gwent Dragons in the LV= Cup.

Saints triumphed 30-20 in Wales to take them top of their pool. Mallinder said: "I am relieved and pleased with that result, really.

"It is always tough to come down to Wales and the Dragons were very competitive and pushed us all the way. It was a good first half and we created a lot of chances.

"The Dragons defended well but we got on top in the second half and controlled the game. We put their forwards under a lot of pressure and eventually they lost someone to the sin-bin.

"The maul went well and the scrum also went well. Ryan Lamb was good and

kicked well to the corners for us to play in the right positions."

It was not all doom and gloom for Dragons coach Darren Edwards, who said: "We couldn't get our hands on the ball at times which was a shame for

us because, when we did, we looked very dangerous.

"We are disappointed but there are positives to come out of this. We fronted up to the stiff challenge and I was happy with that."