Belleau has a big role to play as Saints bid to deliver in PREM Rugby Cup

Because with Fin Smith away, Belleau will look to continue his sensational start to life at Saints by steering them to victory in cup action.

He has already done it once, helping them to come through a tricky test at Saracens in the season opener at StoneX Stadium on September 19.

Belleau was hugely impressive in that match, capping a fine fly-half showing by winning a late breakdown penalty that put the seal on a 49-34 success.

And now he will look to help Saints see off another London club when Harlequins come calling at the Gardens on Saturday evening (kick-off 5.30pm).

"They’re a great team," Belleau said of Quins. "I think they like to move the ball too, a bit similar to us.

"It’s going to be a good challenge for us, we have some of our leaders with their national teams, but we have a good squad.

"I trust everyone in the squad and (we’ll have) maybe some new players coming through – some youngsters playing from the Academy, maybe.

"That’s a good challenge for us and a good opportunity because it is going to be another home game.

"Let’s see what’s going to happen and what we are capable of."

Belleau has already proved to be a man for the big moments since joining Saints from Clermont Auvergne during the summer.

And moments don't come much bigger than in matches against Leicester Tigers, with Belleau coming off the bench to be a super-sub in the derby-day triumph on October 11.

The French star came on at full-back and went on to score two crucial second-half tries to help his team claim a 32-26 victory at the Gardens.

"That was pretty good," he said. "I was on the bench and I was waiting for the opportunity to go, and sometimes you don’t expect to play in your main position, but you need to adapt.

"The team did some really good work in the first half and sometimes you have to take your chance. That day I was really happy.

"I felt like it was really good because the game was really competitive, really tough and the team had a bad game against them last season (Saints lost 33-0 at home to Tigers back in March), so we were really excited about this game.

"We wanted to make our fans proud and keep going since the beginning of the season because we were playing pretty well, but that was one of the first big games we had.

"We were very happy, and me too.

"The Leicester game is a special game because when we started the week before, everyone was saying ‘it’s going to be a derby week, remember what happened last season’.

"We had the weekend off and then on Monday everyone was starting to talk about this game.

"I was like ‘okay, this is going to be a big game,’ and I was just feeling excitement between us."

Belleau sparked scenes of celebrations in the Gardens stands with his derby-day heroics, and he is clearly loving the experience of running out in front of sell-out home crowds.

He said: "I played with my previous club here last season in the Champions Cup. I didn’t know the club or the players but I knew the stadium, and it looked like it was amazing.

"Especially in the last two games against Leicester, which was the derby, and the Friday night game against Sarries, they were two big games and I really loved the atmosphere."

Belleau has also enjoyed life on the road, helping Saints to win at Saracens, Gloucester and Newcastle Red Bulls.

Saints claimed just one league away win last season, but they have already doubled that total this time round.

And Belleau knows the importance of claiming victories on your travels, especially having spent so long in the Top 14, a league in which teams rarely win away.

"The atmosphere in France is pretty amazing – sometimes too passionate – which makes a home game unbelievable," he said. "You have to win!

"We were talking about that with the staff and we were talking about the home win percentage in France and in the Premiership, so that was an interesting conversation.

"A home game in France is like something you check on your calendar, but it is what it is and sometimes you have to win away, it’s part of the job."

Belleau's nerveless penalty proved to be the match-winner as he stepped up and slotted a crucial kick in front of The Shed at Gloucester earlier this season.

"The first game we played against Exeter here we were leading by 30 points at half-time and then it finished 33-33, and it looks like the same at Gloucester!" Belleau said.

"They come back, they turned the table so we were losing by a couple of points and I was like ‘oh my god, please don’t do the same mistakes again,’ so that was a crazy game but a good lesson for us.

"We didn’t do the same mistake twice, which was a good step forward for the team."

Belleau has taken to life at Saints like a duck to water, which is particularly impressive when you consider he hadn't played for a club outside of France prior to this season.

"I’m really happy, I’m enjoying a lot my experience since the beginning of the season," he said.

"We’re having good results with the team, so it’s a very good experience and I’m feeling very good and very happy.

"The club helped us a lot to feel well, with my fiancée, and the atmosphere in the team is also incredible, so that has helped to make the job easier for us."

Saints have yet to lose so far this season.

And Belleau said: "I’m really happy about that because I want to play in every game and win every game.

"It’s good because it was not really perfect but I think we are really connected together and that makes the job easier.

"I also like the tough situations, like against Leicester, when we played away at Gloucester, so I think we’re building our confidence game after game and it’s starting to get better.

"But now it’s another competition, playing in the cup, and I want to make sure we have the same mindset together because some of our boys now are with their national teams.

"I want to make sure the team doesn’t change the way we want to play, so it’s a good challenge now for us."

Discussing his talented Saints team-mates, Belleau said: "The atmosphere here is really good, there are some unbelievable players over here.

"I was happy about learning a different way to play rugby and I enjoy a lot the way the Saints want to play rugby.

"It’s fast rugby, quick rugby, we want to move the ball, which is a good thing as a No.10.

"That’s so good for me and I think this experience makes me become a better man and also a better player, so I’m enjoying every day here."

When asked what he has learned since joining Saints, Belleau said: "It’s not really about specific rugby things, it’s more about a mindset; the way you see and you play rugby. It’s a bit different from what I knew from France because also the pressure is a bit different.

"It’s more about how you see rugby, the mindset you have when you play.

"In some situations I used to think like ‘you probably shouldn’t do that’, but these guys have another opinion and see things differently, and it’s good because it gives me other options and new stuff to learn."

Belleau has been working with British & Irish Lions star Smith at Saints.

"He’s an unbelievable team-mate," Belleau said. "We are playing for the same position and I ask him a lot about rugby things here in England and he does the same with me about the French, so they are lovely conversations we have.

"We spend a lot of time together because we kick together after training, we talk together about the strategy and he helps my English get better, especially when we want to talk to the team.

"He’s helped me a lot since the beginning of the season, I do my best to help him get better as much as possible and I’m really happy to work with him every day.

"He's played for England and he played for the Lions last summer, so everyone knows who Fin Smith is in France."

Belleau has been loving life in England's top division so far this season.

He said: "It’s a really great championship.

"English rugby has a reputation for being really structured, really professional and has a physical game too, so I was not surprised about coming here and seeing the level of rugby you guys play here.

"The Top 14 is really hard because it’s a bit longer and there are more games and every team is now very competitive, so you have 10 or 11 teams trying to get into the top six and each game is very hard.

"But I can say it’s the same here – the rugby is a bit different but the competitiveness is the same."