Gibson hails ‘outstanding’ Saints team-mate Harrison

Having previously made six appearances from the bench during the campaign, Harrison was handed his first start at Bath last Saturday.

And he proceeded to impress in a 13-11 Aviva Premiership win.

The 23-year-old was second in terms of most tackles made in the entire league during the weekend, getting stuck in 17 times at The Rec.

And Gibson, who was given the man of the match award, was hugely impressed with the Kiwi.

“Teimana’s been outstanding,” said the former Leicester man.

“He’s come off the bench in the past four or five weeks and really made a difference.

“He’s a solid boy, he runs hard, he tackles hard and he hits people as hard as he can.

“On Saturday, he came up against one of the best sevens in the world (Francois Louw) and did an outstanding job.”

Harrison came in for the injured Tom Wood, who has been nursing a shoulder injury.

And he could be called upon again on Saturday, when Saints face a huge Champions Cup game at Racing 92.

“It’s massive,” said Gibson.

“We’re in Paris this week and French teams at home, especially with a lot to play for, are going to be tough to play against.

“We’ve got a real opportunity to make a mark on our group in the Champions Cup and we’ll see what happens from there.”

Saints have been finding form in recent weeks, winning their past four games in all competitions.

And Gibson said: “It’s been a good few weeks for us after a slow start.

“We’ve just got to keep everything together and we’ve got a good opportunity to go out and do something special.

“Not many teams go out and beat Racing away from home so we’ve got a real opportunity this week.”