World Cup winner Owen savouring club rivalries and scrums at Saints

The 32-year-old swapped his familiar New Zealand surroundings for a fresh challenge across the globe last summer.

And he clearly couldn’t be happier about it.

Franks, whose brother Ben also plays in the black, green and gold, has made 10 appearances for Saints so far.

And he has been loving the different approach to scrummaging in England and the new challenges that present themselves every week, in particular the ferocity of the contests between Premiership clubs.

“One thing I’ve enjoyed coming over here is the rivalry between the clubs,” Franks said.

“You get the same in Super Rugby when you play your derby games but that’s not every week.

“Here, you’re playing English teams every week and it’s always a different challenge.

“The different styles of teams every week is good and I’m learning heaps.

“Against Leicester you could tell there was a real tension in the air and maybe a little hatred as well.

“It was cool to be a part of that game back in November.”

On the art of scrummaging, in England Franks said: “It’s what excited me to come over here because I knew it would be a different sort of game.

“In New Zealand, the fundamentals of the scrum are essentially the same but it’s a lot cleaner over there in terms of when you’re setting up and trying to get it right.

“But here, it’s like an out-and-out contest right from the start.

“In New Zealand, the scrummaging is still really tough, but the process is cleaner until you set.

“Here, you want to dominate the bind and get yourself into the best position at the start.

“There are maybe more tactics over here to try to offset the props and it’s been a good learning curve.

“I was at the stage of my career in New Zealand where things were maybe getting a bit stale and I was getting a bit complacent.

“I’d always wanted to come and play here to scrum in the Northern Hemisphere, in France or England, and I’m really happy to be here.”

Ben Franks will retire this summer, but his presence at Saints this season has been a big help to Owen, who said: “It made it a lot easier to set up and him and his wife did a lot to help us set up our home here.

“The club has an awesome history and I was really keen to come to England.”