Some called it The Pelican, others The Crane. Whatever it was, it was effective.

When Anthony Perenise fielded a bouncing ball 35m from the Northampton tryline on Saturday, what unfolded was a piece of prop folklore in the making.

Tightheads are not normally famed for their mobility or dancing feet but the big Samoan provided a piece of theatre that the 11,900-strong crowd at The Rec lapped up.

He began to shimmy and slice his way through Saints' midfield, then came the coup de grace. With another line of defence looming, the inventive prop extended his arms like a bird and embarked on a South Sea Island variant of the hitch-kick.

Such flamboyance was followed by a more traditional weapon in the prop's weaponry – the route one, Maori sidestep.

In the light of such finishing skills, is the front-rower fancying a move to the centres?

"No, no, I love the tight stuff too much!" grinned Perenise.

"My family back home have been calling the move I did The Pelican. I did something similar back home but it didn't really pay off. Some of the guys here are calling it the Karate Kid, or The Crane.

"To be honest things just happened and I reacted. I just went with what I felt was right. It might have looked stupid but at least I got the try!

"I was known as Twinkletoes back home and I got a few messages after the game saying 'Twinkletoes is back'."

Perenise's moment of inspiration proved the spark that triggered a burst of tries – and he hopes more will follow on Sunday at Exeter.

"In that last quarter against Northampton it felt like everyone was running great lines onto the ball and the passes were going to hand," he said.

"It's taken a while for guys to switch on but if we can keep to that same standard I'm sure we can go places."