Luke Green signs contract extension

Luke Green has put pen to paper on a new Northampton Saints contract, with the tighthead prop committing his future to the Club after an impressive first 18 months in Black, Green and Gold.

Standing at 6’3” and weighing 125kg, Green joined Saints ahead of the 2024/25 season after a spell in Major League Rugby with San Diego Legion, having previously represented London Irish and Ampthill.

He made an immediate impression in his debut campaign, featuring in 24 of Saints’ 33 matches across all competitions, with his strong form earning him a contract extension midway through the season.

Green also gained international recognition during the year, featuring for England A in their victory over Australia A at Ashton Gate, adding to his previous caps at U18 and U20 level.

The young tighthead has taken his overall tally of Saints appearances to 30 this term, consolidating his place as a reliable presence in Northampton’s matchday squad. His growing influence – and the development he feels within the Club’s environment – underpins Green’s enthusiasm for renewing his deal at cinch Stadium at Franklin’s Gardens.

“I love it here at Northampton. I love this part of the world, I love the boys, and the environment is outstanding. From a rugby point of view, I’m learning so much,” Green said.

“I still think of myself as a young player, but when I look at the environments I’ve been in, this is the one where I feel I’m progressing the most.

“You can feel the improvements week to week, and the coaches drive high standards – no one is ever comfortable here.

“I’m ambitious and I take my career seriously. I want to keep pushing on, put pressure on Trev [Davison] and Cleopas [Kundiona], and become first choice tighthead here at Saints. And ultimately, I want to push into the England squad too.”

Green and his fellow forwards have operated under a new scrum coach this season following the arrival of Jaco Pienaar last summer. The South African’s impact has been keenly felt by the 24-year-old.

“Jaco has been absolutely brilliant, he is a really good coach,” said Green, who has started his own coaching journey this season with grassroots Warwickshire club Manor Park RFC.

“Technically he’s excellent and has made meaningful adjustments to our scrum. He’s also picked up a couple of personal things for me that have been significant, and from a system point of view he’s made some smart changes as well.”

Phil Dowson, Saints’ Director of Rugby, added: “We’ve seen huge growth in Luke throughout his time at the Club so far. He’s a young, English tighthead who is outrageously strong, but also incredibly driven in his professional development – which is a great combination.

“He wants to improve, he wants constant feedback, he wants to be coached hard, and he wants to help the players around him. To have that level of attitude and leadership at his age, and to be competing with the tightheads we have here, is really impressive.

“Luke is another great character to have within our squad, and a really positive signing for us – we talk all the time about the backs and the speed we want to play the game at, but to do that we need forwards who can dig deep and go to the well, and he’s one of the guys who is willing to work very hard and do just that.

“He’s desperate to progress, to start regularly for Saints, and to be in England contention. That drive is a quality all top players share, and the fact he’s getting so much game time for us at a relatively young age for a prop shows how hard he works, and how highly we rate him.”