Chunya Munga shared his pride in Northampton Saints’ performance as Leicester Tigers were defeated to ensure his first senior-level captaincy role ended with a victory.
The powerful lock was handed the leadership position for Friday night’s Premiership Rugby Cup encounter at cinch Stadium at Franklin’s Gardens and the 24-year-old led by example in a 31-12 win.
“It was a really good Leicester side we were up against,” said the 24-year-old. “People say the PRC is a secondary competition to the Gallagher Premiership, but when it is an East Midlands Derby it is never going to be easy to play.
“The boys spoke in the week about the opportunity of doing us as well as we can and running our blood to water and not getting bored of our fundamentals. I am really proud of the effort the lads put in.”
Chunya Munga
Saints led by three tries to one at the break with Henry Pollock, James Ramm and Tom Litchfield crossing the line. The bonus point and result were secured after the break with further scores from George Hendy and Ewan Baker.
Former London Irish forward Munga learned of his leadership role in midweek and led by example on the occasion of his 21st appearance for the men in Black, Green and Gold in front of a bumper Friday night crowd at the Gardens.
“It was a bit of a surprise when Dowse [Phil Dowson] told me in the gym,” he added. “I was really pleased to have the opportunity to do that. It’s no mean feat to run out with the boys and lead them, it was a massive privilege to be honest.
"They created a great platform for everyone to play on"
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Tarek Haffar with a huge shift for Saints tonight with nine carries and eight tackles made! 💪#PremRugbyCup | #NORvLEI pic.twitter.com/mdQ2sQE37o
“The last time I captained a team was the Reading Abbey Under-16s and we definitely won that game in my last game as captain. But I’ve never captained at this level.”
The victory – Saints’ 17th successive competitive match win at the Gardens – got Saints’ Cup campaign off to a perfect start with further fixtures against Midlands rivals to follow in November.
“We’ve got some good fixtures in the Premiership Rugby Cup,” said Munga. “It’s another game at home next week against Nottingham. We know they are a strong Championship side, that is going to be a test.
“Then we have a rest week then a really good test against Coventry at their place. It is an exciting period for us to test the depth of our squad to the best of our ability and I am looking forward to the games.”
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