SAINTS boss Justin Holbrook says skipper Jon Wilkin will have to get used to not playing 80 minutes.

Wilkin’s positional change from second row to the middle at 13 means that the demands on him will require a different approach.

The coach was unaware of the indifferent reaction from the terraces last Friday when there were ironic cheers when Wilkin was substituted, but said there were things his skipper has to work on.

Holbrook said: “I thought Wilko’s first stint was outstanding and he helped set the game up for us.

“His work with the middles, combining with the halves, to get us going was really effective.

“But I thought he really struggled in his second stint.

“I had a chat with him on Monday about it, because it is a position he is unfamiliar to.

“For 15 years he has played 80 minutes as a back row, I have now got him in the middle at 13.

“You can’t play 80 there so he has to get used to getting himself right to go for the second stint and I don’t think he handled that well (on Friday) and he admitted it.

“We will be looking to improve his second stint on Thursday, but I thought his first stint was outstanding.

“He is fine with it; he understands now that his best position is 13, combining with the other middles and being the link with the halves, and he is looking forward to that role.

“But he is also coming to terms with not playing 80 minutes and working out a strategy for being right for his second stint.”

There were groans when Wilkin put a kick out on the full deep in his own half.

“Whenever you make a kick like that it is going to be seen by everyone, and that is not the same with seeing the work you do in defence or pushing up.

“But he didn’t need to have a crack at that – we have enough strike in the team now even if over the years he has taken a bit of a role there.

“He is a quality part of our team,” Holbrook said.