Change and a rest good for Picamoles
LOUIS PICAMOLES will lead Northampton Saints’ charge into Europe next weekend feeling in the best shape of his life and promising he will only get better.
The 30-year-old big-money signing from Toulouse has been outstanding for Saints in the Aviva Premiership, with more off-loads completed than any other player in the league and more yards gained than any of his team-mates. After 12 seasons in France’s Top 14, with a campaign running from mid-August through to June, Picamoles insists the longer off-season afforded to English Premiership clubs means he’s in better shape at this stage than ever before.
‘The biggest thing for me is the time I had in preseason to be ready for the season with Saints. Both countries want to look after the players but short off-season makes it hard in France.
‘In England, the off season is a lot longer and it makes it a lot easier to prepare well.
‘Right now I feel better at the start of the season than I was used to in France. Those six to eight weeks of pre-season were very good for me.’ Picamoles, who has scored seven tries in 54 Tests for France, has been taking English lessons and will travel to Castres for next Saturday’s Champions Cup opener against Castres in a pool which also contains his former club Montpellier and two-time winners Leinster.
‘It’s going to take some time to get used to this new environment but I feel better and better week on week,’ he said.