'I was gutted... I was pretty emotional walking in, even just as a fan'

Tom West admits that he is determined to win at least one of the three trophies that Northampton Saints are challenging for this season to make up for his Champions Cup heartache.

The former Wasps, Leicester Tigers and Saracens loosehead has just returned to action after suffering a knee injury at Bristol Bears in November, in only his fourth game back from a foot injury that caused him so much misery.

West was injured in a game at Exeter Chiefs just two weeks before the big day in Cardiff, and he hopes to make up for it by landing either the Gallagher Prem crown, the Prem Rugby Cup or the Champions Cup.

“I was gutted last year to get injured two weeks before the final, having played in all the knockout games of our European campaign, and I was absolutely gutted to miss that final.

“I wasn’t in a good place for a couple of weeks, knowing I wasn’t going to make it to Cardiff to play in the final. So I’m desperate to get back to another final and get some silverware.

“I think the difficult thing was in those few days where you’re hoping, like, or maybe there’ll be a miracle, and I’ll be all right, and maybe I’ll take the boot off my foot, and my foot will have magically healed.

“I sat with my parents and my partner, Beth, and we watched it. I think I tried very much to watch it as a fan at the time.

“I was pretty emotional walking in, even just as a fan, to know that I wasn’t going to be there for it.

“So until I’d gone and seen the specialist, until I’d known what the plan of action was with the rehab and how long it was going to be, I sort of just stayed inside myself and tried to just plan it all out myself,” he told RugbyPass.