Since arriving at Saints in the summer, Louis Picamoles has settled into club life well but though now friends with his former rivals, the France number eight says that he will offer his English clubmates no reprieves as they face each other this weekend in the RBS Six Nations opener.
“You can say my story starts in England,” Picamoles commented while speaking to The Times about how his mother had lived near Stratford-Upon-Avon before she met his father in London.
Picamoles commented that he was expecting a culture shock from the move across the Channel but found it to be a pleasant one.
“I didn’t think English people liked to cook but my wife likes organic food and she is very happy with the products we have found.”
Now fully integrated in Northampton, Picamoles said that while he did not know England captain and his now Saints teammate Dylan Hartley but has since developed a good relationship with the hooker.
“I did not know Dylan before and it is very different when you only play against somebody in international rugby but I know him well now, he is a good leader, with charisma and an amazing work ethic. When he speaks, the message is always clear.”
With the number eight lining up against Hartley and his other clubmates in the form of Courtney Lawes, Tom Wood and Teimana Harrison, PIcamoles said that the England-France were always a favourite and that despite his English links never afforded England any sympathy.
“I used to love watching the Five Nations with my father, but England and France were the best of enemies. I did not like the English. Beating England was very special.”
