There were no shortage of contenders for the television player-of-the-match award in Friday night’s 39-19 victory over Leicester Tigers, such was the strength of Northampton’s collective performance.
So it came as little surprise when the recipient of the accolade, winger Amena Caqusau, was quick to divert the praise towards the teammates who had put him in front of the cameras with a medal around his neck at the final whistle.
“It’s credit to the boys because they did all the hard work,” he said.
“I was just lucky enough to be on the end of it, so I’m happy we got five points.”
On a night when the average age of Saints’ matchday squad was lower than Caqusau’s own 22 years, the former Glasgow Warriors back produced a pair of scintillating moments that lit up DPD Stadium at Franklin’s Gardens.
The first came before half-time. Having gathered a cross-field kick with plenty still to do, Caqusau’s electric footwork saw him round a defender to race over and register Saints’ bonus-point score.
Arguably the pick of the ten tries scored on the night arrived after the break. Charlie Ulcoq and Sonny Goode combined brilliantly down the blindside before Caqusau showed a winger’s instinct to be in exactly the right place to apply the finishing touch.
“It feels really good,” he added. “We knew it was going to be a tough one.
“We had a good week of training and we knew they were going to bring a reaction after half-time, so I’m just thankful that the boys stuck in.
“We knew that, playing against a team like that, the most physical side was going to win the game.
“When we lost to them in the Gallagher PREM a couple of weeks ago, the boys kind of kept that in mind, so it was good to get one over on them this time.
With 14 players away on international duty and a further nine unavailable for selection, Saints named a side short on experience. But what they lacked in miles on the clock, they more than made up for with commitment, style and execution.
“It’s massive, especially for us young boys,” he added.
“We had a rough start to the PRC block, so we wanted to put in a better performance and thankfully the boys did that.
“We knew that if we stuck to our DNA, we would come out on top.
“It’s a good opportunity for the young boys who don't play week in, week out to show what they can do, and a lot of boys stepped up.”