Speedster Estelles aiming to cap stellar first season

NORTHAMPTON wing Juan Pablo Estelles is determined to earn an extension to his short-term contract at Franklin’s Gardens and emulate the Argentinian stars who have graced Premiership rugby.

Estelles, a member of the Argentina Sevens side denied by Great Britain in the Olympics quarterfinals, featured for his country’s 15-a-side team against England again in November before being snapped up by Saints.

The 28-year-old has impressed in the Premiership and Estelles told The

Rugby Paper: “Playing for Argentina in the Olympics and against England at Twickenham were the best experiences of my life – now I want to stay at Saints and be successful.

“You really have to enjoy big moments like the Olympics because you struggle for so many years to get to that point. All the work paid off and although it was hard to lose against England, 2016 was a fantastic year for me personally.

“Now I have a chance with Northampton and it’s been good to play. My contract finishes in May but it would be amazing to stay and follow in the footsteps of guys like Marcelo Bosch and Marcos Ayerza who’ve done well in England.

“I know Belisario Agulla at Newcastle very well, and Juan Figallo at Saracens – they are my age and we used to play together when we were younger, so we keep in touch now and it’s nice to have familiar faces encouraging me.”

Estelles’ hard-running style and intelligent crossfield incursions bear striking resemblance to Saints wing colleague George North.

He added: “George’s one of the best wingers in the world so I’ve been trying to get as much advice from him as I can. That’s been helpful because, having also played at 13 in my career, I really enjoy coming infield and being involved.”

Sixth-placed Saints have much work to do to make the play-offs, but Estelles added: “We’ve won our last three league games and played very well, so there’s a good feeling that we can keep up that momentum.”