Mike Haywood says the Saints camp is a great environment for a young player to be in.
The 21-year-old hooker has enjoyed a rise to prominence this season, covering for club captain Dylan Hartley on a number of occasions.
Haywood has racked up 22 appearances during this campaign and will start in the big Aviva Premiership clash with Bath at Franklin’s Gardens on Saturday.
He has been learning his trade from England star Hartley and forwards coach Dorian West and the Southend-born talent is loving every minute of life at Saints.
“They’re always straight with you and telling you where you can improve,” he said. “Dorian (West) pulls me aside and said I could have done that better and it’s really good.
“It’s a great side to be amongst because you’ve got players like Phil Dowson trying to push you forward and it’s a great environment to be in.”
Haywood has put in some exceptional performances this season, notably at Leicester in November and, memorably, in the Heineken Cup win at Ulster a few weeks later.
He has improved as the season has gone on, but the former England Under 20s player knows he still has plenty to learn.
“I’ve been really happy,” he said. “I’ve tried to do the best I can in every game.
“I’ve still got plenty of stuff to work on and hopefully I can take that into the future and keep learning from Dyls and Dorian.
“I’m just working on basics such as lineout stuff, reading when to throw and bits and bobs like that.
“Ball handling stuff; there have been a few games where I’ve made some errors that were basic and I’ve been trying to improve on that and develop my skills.”
Haywood will get another chance to show his skills on Saturday, as in-form Bath head to Northampton.
And the youngster is hoping Saints can build on their fine 27-18 win at Worcester last weekend.
“We know Bath are going to be a big challenge, but we just want to get a win on our home patch and keep the momentum going,” he said.
“Bath have been going really well, they’ve won their past six games so we really want to take them on up front.
“Hopefully we can take what we did last week into the game.”
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