West joined Saints from coaching the England Under-21s in 2007

Northampton director of rugby Jim Mallinder has attributed his forwards' recent dominance to coach Dorian West.

West was an influential figure for Leicester Tigers as they won four Premiership titles and two Heineken Cups between 1999 and 2002.

Mallinder told BBC Radio Northampton: "Games are won and lost up front, and Dorian is a very good forwards coach.

"He played in a pack which dominated for years, and it's fantastic we're getting like that."

After beating Bath 31-10 on Friday, Saints are top of the Premiership with three wins from three matches.

Saints began their season with a 27-19 win over Leicester on the opening day and followed it up with a 20-16 defeat of Harlequins a week later.

"We worked hard against a good Leicester pack, and I thought we didn't get our just rewards against Harlequins," added Mallinder.

"Christian Day is playing well and it's fantastic to see him coming through. Euan Murray isn't happy about being on the sidelines but we have Brian Mujati and Dylan Hartley, who's playing out of his skin.

"We're making slow progress and we're not getting carried away, but we're happy with how it's gone."

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