New Welsh rugby debutant leaves English team's coaches impressed and their fans annoyed

How does a young rugby player know if he’s ticked enough boxes on his professional debut in a match played hundreds of miles from home?

One indicator might be if the crowd on the day screams at the referee to take action against you.

Another might be if the opposition coaches make a point of singling you out for praise after the game.

And so to the AJ Bell Stadium after Sale Sharks had overcome the Ospreys 49-10 in the Heineken Champions Cup last Sunday. Harri Deaves was making his bow for the Welsh region and opposing him from the start was Ben Curry before brother and fellow England international Tom Curry came on in the second half.

That would be the same Tom Curry who Sam Warburton described in match commentary as one of the top two openside flankers in the world, up there with Ardie Savea.

Yet on the day Deaves caught the eye as much as anyone.

It wasn’t just his yellow scrum-cap that helped him do so, either.

The Pontyclun RFC product was constantly involved.

Every Ospreys line-break seemed to see the youngster on the shoulder of the ball-carrier. There were important tackles, good work at the breakdown and a try to crown a remarkable effort.

Toby Booth didn’t need anyone to tell him he had just seen an outstanding debut performance, but the feedback duly came in, all the same.

“When the AJ Bell Stadium and the people behind the bench are calling for him to be (picked up for) offside and for him to get his hands out of breakdowns, it’s the biggest compliment you can get, when the home crowd gets on your back,” said Booth.

“It was pretty ironic considering the breakdown players they have on their side.

“The opposition coaching staff also commented on the fact that Harri's a good player. If you’re eye-catching to the