Match-winner Kessell praises '˜unreal' Saints star Picamoles

Tom Kessell was Saints' match-winner (picture: Kirsty Edmonds)

Picamoles scored one and set the second up for Kessell as Saints squeezed past Gloucester in a 23-20 Aviva Premiership win at Franklin’s Gardens.

It was the No.8 who picked up the man of the match Champagne, with Picamoles continuing his stunning start to life at Saints.

And the former Toulouse man is continually attracting praise from his new team-mates, with Kessell the latest to dish out the plaudits.

“He’s pretty awesome, isn’t he?” Kessell said.

“He’s a quality player, he’s unreal.

“It’s a pleasure to play with him and we’ve got a class back row to be fair.

“You know Louis is just going to offload it and get us momentum so it’s a pleasure to play with him.”

On his try, which came in the 70th minute of the match to help Saints come back from 20-16 down, Kessell said: “It was Louis who broke through and I just got the ball out the back and tried to go for the line.

“It was credit to Louis, who drew the men and got the offload as well.

“It was a hard game, but it’s always going to be a hard game in the Premiership.

“We’re happy to get the win at home, which we should be doing.”