First Saints start so special for Brüssow

And the South African flanker described the whole experience as 'fun' as he helped his new club to secure a 25-17 victory against London Irish at Franklin's Gardens.

Brüssow arrived at Saints last month, following the conclusion of his commitments at Japanese side NTT Docomo Red Hurricanes.

He made his debut in the Anglo-Welsh Cup victory against Harlequins at the Gardens on February 2, getting 18 minutes off the bench.

And he was thrust into the starting 15 for the Aviva Premiership battle with Irish.

"It was very special and the win helps it a bit," Brüssow said.

"We put ourselves under a bit of pressure at the start but we came out nicely in the second half and it was nice to get a win.

"It was my first start and it was special."

Brüssow has been getting up to speed after returning from a groin injury that had kept him out since the end of September.

And the 31-year-old said: "Before the Harlequins game, it had been three months since I'd played so I was a bit worried about the fitness, but I've just tried to play a bit clever and use my opportunities better.

"I definitely got tired on Saturday and I'm going to be quite sore, but that's what it's all about and I enjoyed it.

"It was similar to what I was used to - a quick, fun game.

"I haven't had a wet, typical English game so we'll wait and see.

"it was fun, I really enjoyed it, we got some good tries and it was great to play in front of the crowd.

"I haven't played in front of a big crowd like this for a while now so it was special. You could feel the atmosphere and the passion."