Belleau 'trusts process' to secure win for Saints

French fly-half Anthony Belleau described English rugby as "very interesting, very different" after finding himself involved in a thrilling finish for the second week in a row with Northampton Saints.

Having drawn 33-33 with Exeter after leading by 26 points on The Prem's opening weekend, Saints were 31-0 ahead at Gloucester, only to find themselves trailing 35-34 late on before Belleau kicked what proved to be a match-winning penalty.

The 29-year-old was jeered by home fans in the Shed End as he stepped up for the kick, but judged the wind perfectly to curl it inside the far post for the three points.

"I just tried to trust my process and my routine," Belleau told BBC Radio Northampton. "I played here two years ago with Clermont in the Challenge Cup, so I knew all the stories about the stands, but I was focused and didn't want to miss the opportunity to win the game.

"We had exactly the same picture [situation] last week and decided to go for the line-out. I thought 'don't do the same mistake twice, take the opportunity' and I'm happy because it went through the posts.

"I was confident, I knew I hit the ball pretty well and I waited for one or two seconds, looked up, I saw the line of the ball and it went through."

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Having scored four tries before the break, Saints found themselves under severe pressure as Gloucester fought back, with George Hendy, Tom Pearson and Tom Lockett all sin-binned.

"At half-time we had the same conversation as last week - we knew they were going to try to come back and that happened," said Belleau, who will vie with England's Fin Smith for the number 10 shirt.

"We were in trouble in our 22 and undisciplined, I think it was three yellow cards and we needed to put two backs in the scrum.

"We just tried to keep fighting for each other and stay connected as a team."

Having won the title in 2024, Northampton are fourth in The Prem table after two games, with an East Midlands derby against Leicester Tigers at Franklin's Gardens up next on Saturday.

Belleau said: "I know it's the game of the year at home, a derby. I know how important this kind of game is. It's the same in France, we love these games.

"It's going to be a big day for us and let's try and get a win because we missed the first opportunity at home (against Exeter)."

Belleau has now made three appearances for the club and added: "It was a very exciting challenge for me to come here and I am enjoying it a lot at the moment."