Fotuali’i praises team-mates as Saints snuff out Care threat

Fotuali’i won the battle of the nines on Friday night, earning the man of the match award as Northampton beat Harlequins 18-10 to book a place in the Amlin Challenge Cup final.

The Samoan star scored one try and set up another to help Saints get the better of their Aviva Premiership rivals at Franklin’s Gardens.

And though Fotuali’i drew praise for his dazzling display, outshining Care, the former Ospreys player was keen to deflect the accolades towards his team-mates.

“It was tough against Danny,” said Fotuali’i. “He’s a quality player and he’s been world class recently.

“I knew going into the game it was going to be tough, but we did our jobs collectively and we stopped his momentum. Our forwards got front foot ball and made my job a lot easier.”

And the ever-modest Fotuali’i even felt he could have done a few things better, despite looking almost flawless in his star man showing.

“It was an enjoyable game,” he said. “It was exciting to get to another final.

“Personally I think I could have done a few things different, but credit to our forwards and Stephen Myler, who put the ball in front of me and made it a whole lot easier.”