Cardiff Blues coach Dai Young has criticised Northampton Saints

Cardiff Blues coach Dai Young has launched a war of words on Heineken Cup rivals Northampton Saints.

Young questioned the legality of the Saints' scrum, claiming he would be "having a chat" with officials before Saturday's showdown.

But the English side hit back, claiming Young is "obviously worried" about his side's pack ahead of the Pool One clash at Franklin's Gardens.

The teams meet again on 19 December at the Cardiff City Stadium.

The Blues head to Northampton knowing victory will go a long way to booking a quarter-final berth for the third time in four years.

But Young criticised Saints' tactics in the scrum, saying he will draw officials' attention to what he considers unfair play.

"If you look at their tight-head, he totally angles in," he said.

"They're getting a lot of penalties through it.

"It's something they don't need to do because they've got a strong enough scrum.

"We'll certainly be having a chat with the referee before the game to make sure they keep the tight-head straight."

Saints forwards coach Dorian West insisted Young could not be further from the truth.

"I'm amazed by the comments, to be honest," said the Welsh-born hooker, a member of England's 2003 World Cup winning squad.

"Dai Young's obviously worried - but our scrum has prided itself on how legal it's been.

"Referees have even spoken about how straight we've been at tight-head.

"It's up to Cardiff to stop us - hopefully they'll be legal in their attempts to do so."

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