Lee Radford draws high praise following latest rugby union title success

Former rugby league man Lee Radford has drawn high praise for his role at Northampton Saints after their PREM Rugby final victory over the Exeter Chiefs. 

Radford, who joined the East Midlands outfit as defence coach after his exit from Castleford Tigers, helped the Saints secure their second English title in three years in a 26-17 win over the Devonians in his final game with the club.

‘Credit to Lee Radford’

During his time at Franklin’s Gardens, Radford has been credited with changing their defence into one of the best in the league, with the Saints topping the charts for both tackle success and dominant tackles across the PREM this season, and has once again drawn huge praise for his work with the club in the immediate aftermath of their victory at Twickenham.

“Credit to Lee Radford,” said Northampton director of rugby Phil Dowson. “We said this was his last game in charge of defence, and we wanted to represent that.

“People talk all the time about defence winning championships. Exeter statistically had the best defence in the league throughout the year, but I think our defence has been excellent as well.

“It really stood up well at the end there and gave us the opportunity to see out the game.”

‘He will fit into our environment really well’

Radford will now join up with Scotland full-time ahead of their Nations Championship Tests against Fiji, Argentina and South Africa, after initially working on Gregor Townsend’s staff on a part-time basis earlier this year, and the head coach feels the former Bradford Bulls and Hull FC man is exactly the right person to lead their defence.

“We placed huge importance on bringing in a high-quality replacement for Steve Tandy as our defence coach, and Lee fits the bill perfectly,” said Townsend upon Radford’s appointment.

“Lee brings a wealth of experience from rugby league and union on the defensive area of the game and will be able to build on the good work that has been done in that area over the last few years.

“He will fit into our environment really well and I believe our players will respond positively to Lee’s beliefs and ideas around the defensive side of the game, and the mindset required to win at the highest level.

“We are looking forward to working with him as a coaching group and learning from his substantial knowledge and experiences.”