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The big interview: Tom Vickers talks to new Saints prop Lefty Zigiriadis To be a top-level rugby player, you have to have an incredible work ethic. And that certainly rings true when it comes to new Saints prop Lefty Zigiriadis, who joined the club from Ealing Trailfinders this summer. The 24-year-old uses his days off from playing rugby to build a career off the pitch, working as a trainee financial advisor at Titan Wealth in Kettering. It is the same company that employs former Saints loosehead Ethan Waller, who made the move into the world of money after retiring in 2024. Waller, who was a popular figure at Franklin’s Gardens, now works as a financial planner and he is someone Zigiriadis knows well. Both men are no strangers to doing the hard yards, and moving to Saints has been a big help for Zigiriadis as he is able to significantly cut down his travel time. He said: “I actually started there (at Titan Wealth) when I was at Ealing, so nine months ago. "It helps so much being here (at Saints). "Before the Saints offer came up, I had been working in Kettering so it was tough work but good. "I just do it on my days off but if I need to come in on the morning for physio or something I just work from home when I get back. "It’s different work because you’re resting your body, sitting down. "I just think the opportunity came up and I want to build a career on the side of rugby and use what I’m good at. "At the beginning it was difficult, but the head of the sports division there, Ethan Waller, is very helpful with that. It really helps having him there. He understands because he’s done this so he gives me a lot of flexibility. "At the beginning it was hard but you just get used to it and your lifestyle adapts around it. "It helped a lot to join Saints. I’ve gone from doing a two-hour drive in the morning with one of my best mates, a guy called Angus Kernohan, to doing 30 minutes now so it’s completely different. "It’s spot on.” Born in Pretoria, Zigiriadis attended Waterkloof Primary and Hilton College in South Africa before moving to the UK to join the Trailfinders Rugby Academy. He spent three years in Ealing’s system while studying economics and accounting at Brunel University, later completing a Masters in banking and finance. The loosehead flourished in the university environment, playing a key role in Brunel’s run to the BUCS play-offs and earning the players’ player of the year award for the Men’s Academy at Trailfinders in 2023. Zigiriadis made his senior debut for Ealing in March 2023 in a 50-12 victory over Cornish Pirates, before spending the 2023/24 campaign on loan in Cornwall. He featured 19 times across Champ Rugby and PREM Rugby Cup for Pirates, winning the club’s player of the year award, before returning to Trailfinders. The prop enjoyed his most productive season in an Ealing shirt to date in 2024/25, making 22 appearances – while 13 outings last season took his overall tally for Trailfinders to 36 appearances. Saints supporters were actually given an early glimpse of Zigiriadis when he featured for Trailfinders at the Gardens in a PREM Rugby Cup quarter-final in March 2025, scoring one of Ealing’s tries in the contest. And that is a day Zigiriadis remembers fondly. “I remember I was nervous before the day but before that, we had been on a very good run. "A lot of people come up to me and ask ‘how’s the jump?’ and it is a jump (from Champ to PREM) but a lot of people underplay the Champ and Ealing because Ealing was a tough environment, tough competition and tough training. "Ealing wasn’t a walk in the park – it was really difficult – so that set me up well to make the next step. "That game (against Saints) was a good game and it was one of my better ones so it was ideal that happened then. "The atmosphere was unreal and I also watched some games here (at the Gardens) last year. The atmosphere when I came here as a supporter last season was unreal. "I came to the Bristol game (that Saints won 94-33 in May) so that was a good one! "I was just thinking ‘this is fast rugby, big guys moving quickly’.” So when did Zigiriadis know he was joining Saints? "It came about at the end of December, beginning of January time," he explained. "I got a call from my agent, saying Saints wanted to have a call with me. "I’d just got injured, done my MCL on the Saturday, and five or six days later my agent gave me a call and said ‘Saints want to have a call with me on Monday’. "I had a call with Dows (Phil Dowson), Jim (Jim Henry), Jaco (Pienaar) and Paul Shields. From then, the negotiations started. "I was like ‘do they know I’m injured?’ but I wasn’t really too worried because if it happened, it happened, if it didn’t, it didn’t. "My goal was always to play at the highest level and be in an environment like this but there’s still a long way to go. "I’ve only done a few weeks of pre-season so I really want to earn my stripes and keep going." Zigiriadis has been hugely impressed by the humble nature of the Saints environment so far. "It’s a very, very good environment with the boys in the changing room,” he said. “The guys are very relaxed. "JT (Josh Taylor) said to me the other day ‘you wouldn’t think these guys have just won the PREM’ because they’re very relaxed, very humble, very, very chilled. "Guys can just be themselves, which is the most important thing. "Changing room wise it reminds me a lot of my time in Cornwall because there was nothing much to do around there so the boys had to be really close. "Everyone really bought in and we punched far above our weight as a team at Cornish Pirates and it reminds me a bit of that.” Zigiriadis will be competing with the likes of England loosehead Manny Iyogun and Italy star Danilo Fischetti for the Saints No.1 shirt this season. And he said: “They’re some of the best props in the world. "If you’re around guys who are the best, it can only uplift you. "It will be good to learn from them and compete with them. "I’m just fully looking forward to buying into the team and the culture off the pitch. “I want to be myself really. "It’s one step at a time and I’m just taking it week by week, game by game and whatever comes, comes.”