Northampton are a much more resilient side than they were 12 months ago, according to centre James Downey.

Saints had to turn around a three-point half-time deficit to overcome Edinburgh 31-27 in the Heineken Cup on Saturday.

Downey, 29, told BBC Look East: "That's what we've worked on this year, even in the Premiership, just hanging in there and pushing.

"Before we might have lost it and they might have pulled away and we would have got nothing from the game."

Despite being the only English side to progress to the Heineken Cup knock-out stage last season Jim Mallinder's men only recorded one win on their travels in the competition.

606: DEBATE Northampton did extremely well to come away from Edinburgh with an away victory and there is not much between the teams in this group porridge_times

But Saints put in an impressive second-half performance at Murrayfield to make sure their first away game of their new European campaign finished with a positive result.

Downey, who recorded his first try of the season in the win, admitted his side's performance in the first period had not been up to scratch.

"They were getting too quick a ball," he added.

"It was like training, we were letting them have it. They were whipping it away when we weren't even set and if you're not set you're dead in the water."

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