Saint on ‘heritage’ route for England

IMPOSING Northampton lock David Ribbans has set his heart on an England future after becoming the latest South African to seek his fortune on these shores.

England-qualified through a grandfather from the north London suburb of Enfield, Ribbans, 21, has impressed for Saints since quitting Western Province in January.

As a 6ft 8in (2.02m), 18st 5lb (116kg) practitioner of the second row dark arts, weaned on the World Cupwinning exploits of Springbok legends Bakkies Botha and Victor Matfield, former Currie Cup regular Ribbans has lofty ambitions of his own.

He told TRP: “I’d like to aspire to that level. You’ve got to think big and being English-qualified provides that extra motivation.

“Victor Matfield was at Saints last season and, growing up, I’d watch him and Bakkies Botha – two legends of the game. To come here now and learn alongside Courtney Lawes is fantastic and it’ll be interesting to see the route this takes me.

“Saints came in and I thought it was a great opportunity to see what I could do in the Premiership. It’s a tough league, every team has big forwards, but so far I’ve enjoyed it.”

Ribbans added: “It’s not easy joining halfway through the season and learning new plays, but the team has made me feel at home and I’ve had really encouraging support from senior guys like Tom Wood, Dylan Hartley and Courtney.

“Courtney’s a great player – he knows how to line someone up in the tackle and I’ve sampled his big hits in the tackle! – and I’m a better player now than when I arrived. All our games seem to be big ones but that’s how you improve.”

Northampton’s season could end in joy or disappointment depending on which side of the Champions Cup qualification line they fall.

With matches against Exeter and Harlequins to come, Ribbans said: “We were disappointed to lose against Saracens last week but picking yourself up is part of the job and we’re massively motivated to get into that Champions Cup.”