Corbisiero ready for Leicester ‘arm wrestle’ after special comeback appearance

The popular England prop came off the bench during the second half of Saints’ 11-try 74-13 romp against Dai Young’s men.

It was the 25-year-old’s first appearance for his club since he injured his knee in the Heineken Cup defeat at Castres in October.

And Corbisiero was keen to stress his gratitude for the backing he received when he replaced Alex Waller with 28 minutes of Saturday’s game to go.

“It was massive,” he said. “I’m very grateful for the response I got.

“It was pretty emotional hearing the fans. It’s been a tough five months and to be out there was amazing enough, but to hear the fans react like that was one of those special moments.”

Corbisiero is now looking forward to getting stuck into Leicester in Friday night’s Aviva Premeirship play-off semi-final clash.

And he recognises just how big a challenge it will be for the Saints forwards as they bid to power their team to Twickenham.

“Make no bones about it, Leicester are going to look to take us on up front,” said Corbisiero. “It’s one of the things they pride themselves on and they’ve been one of the dominant forces as a pack for a long time.

“We’re going to have to match them there, make sure our detail is right and work hard. We’re obviously going to want to get on top of them.

“We expect a big arm wrestle, a big tussle and it could go either way, but we’re going for it as well.”