Saints coach King delighted by performance of winger Packman

The 18-year-old wing, son of former Saint Frank Packman, made his Northampton debut in the 33-6 LV= Cup success against Gloucester last weekend.

And Packman proceeded to light up Franklin’s Gardens with some dazzling footwork and some illustrations of his impressive acceleration.

The Academy player also showed his steel in defence, stopping Matt Kvesic as the England flanker charged towards the line.

And Packman’s display clearly caught the eye of attack coach King, who said: “It was good.

“He came in at the last minute. He’s trained really well all season.

“It’s a pleasure when he gets the ball because he’s quite and he’s got amazing feet.

“He’s just got to play more rugby at this level and he’ll get better and better.”

Another player making his Saints debut last Saturday was Glenn Dickson, who replaced the rested Stephen Myler at fly-half.

The Kiwi kicker, a summer arrival from Otago, amassed 11 points and King is looking forward to seeing more of the player.

“It was his first game on Saturday and although he missed a couple of touches, that happens at fly-half,” said the former England No.10.

“I missed a fair few in my career and I didn’t do too badly.

“It’s good for the squad that Stephen’s got some competition. He just needs to play more and hopefully he’ll be there next week.”