George North will be a Saints idol ‘with Stephen Myler’s help’

Former Northampton star winger Jon Sleightholme has backed Stephen Myler to load the bullets for George North to fire in the Premiership when the Lions giant turns out on the wing for the Saints.
North has taken Australia by storm during the current Lions tour, wreaking havoc on the opposition whenever he gets his hands on the ball.
A two-try contribution in the first half of Tuesday’s outing against an overwhelmed amateur Country XV came on the back of a hugely impressive cameo at outside centre against Queensland Reds to whet the appetite of Lions fans ahead of the forthcoming Test series.
And that of Saints supporters back home, Sleightholme included. “He’s not doing too badly, is he?” the 12-cap England international said, tongue in cheek.
“A lot of people have given him the ‘next Jonah Lomu’ tag, but I think he is more of a footballer than Jonah.
“I’m not saying Jonah wasn’t (a footballer), he just never needed to show that side of his game.
“George is one of those players who always makes things happen.
“Yes, he can smash through defences with his power and pace, but he can also put people into space and  has great hands, as he showed when playing in midfield against the Reds.
“I think he’s going to be massive in the Premiership.”
With North heralded by Sleightholme as not only “the best winger in the world” but also the best Premiership signing of the close season, he says it would be criminal of Saints to leave their marquee signing kicking his heels out wide.
According to Sleightholme, this is where fly-half Myler – assisted by new attack coach Alex King – will come into his own. “It’s all well and good having someone like George out on the wing, but if you can’t get the ball to him then he’s going to be redundant.
“Obviously it’s the job of the midfield and the half backs – especially the 10 – to make sure he sees enough of the ball.
“Stephen Myler, left, has been much maligned over the last few years, but I’ve always been a fan of his.
“I think he has a lot more to his game than people give him credit for; he is not just a kicking fly-half. In the last few years he has shown some really nice touches and has had the confidence to play flat in the face of the defence.
“The club seem to have decided that Myler is their man at fly-half, because they haven’t been in any rush to go out and buy a marquee signing in that position – not that there are many out there.
“Paul Grayson has done a great job with Myler’s development up to this point and, hopefully, Alex King can take him on to the next stage of his evolution.”
At just over 15st, Sleightholme was regarded as one of the more physical wingers in English rugby when he represented his country in 1996-97.
This mantle was taken on for both club and country by his successor, Ben Cohen, and now Welshman North – some two stone heavier than Sleightholme in his pomp – has the chance to be the biggest and best of the lot in the Saints jersey.
“It’s going to take him a bit of time to adjust to the Premiership, because, unlike the Celtic League, you have big physical battles week in week out,” Sleightholme said.
“He’s also going to be a marked man wherever he plays, but he’s a marked man now for Wales and the Lions and they still can’t stop him.
“If  Northampton can develop their game around George and provide the same platform up front as they’ve enjoyed in the last couple of years – and that is a concern given that some key front row players are leaving – he could be devastating.
“I’m very excited about what Northampton can do next season.”
JON NEWCOMBE