Anthony Belleau reflects on Northampton's thrilling win over Gloucester

Anthony Belleau held his composure to guide Northampton Saints to a dramatic 37-35 win over Gloucester at Kingsholm.

The French fly-half, making only his second Premiership appearance for Saints, landed the match-winning penalty with just eight minutes left after Gloucester had overturned a 31-point deficit to edge ahead.

With Ross Byrne shown a yellow card for a deliberate knock-on, Belleau stepped up near the touchline to slot his seventh successful kick of the afternoon.

“I just tried to trust my process and do my routine,” he said.

“You know the crowd tries to make you miss, but I was focused and didn’t want to waste the opportunity to win the game.”

The win followed a frustrating draw in round one against Exeter, where Saints had declined a late penalty chance.

Belleau admitted that lesson was fresh in his mind:

“I was like ‘don’t make the same mistake twice’. Take the opportunity, and I’m happy because it went through the posts.”

Despite three yellow cards and moments of poor discipline, Saints showed resilience to avoid a repeat collapse.

Belleau added: “We were in trouble in our 22, but this time we found a way. I am so happy that we didn’t make the same mistake twice and we took some lessons from last week.”

Northampton Saints are positioned fourth in the table with 8 points. They will be hosting Leicester Tigers in the third round at cinch Stadium @ Franklin's Gardens on Saturday.