Four weeks on from arriving for the first day of Northampton Saints’ preseason, Callum Hunter-Hill is getting to grips with life in Black, Green and Gold after spending five seasons at league rivals Saracens.
In his time in London, the 27-year-old established himself as a regular feature in Saracens’ team – making 81 appearances there despite injuries hampering his most-recent campaign – and lifted the Gallagher Premiership trophy after a stellar 2022/23 season.
Hunter-Hill made the switch to Northampton from Saints’ Premiership rivals hoping that joining a competitive group of locks of would further develop his game – with the likes of Alex Coles, Chunya Munga, Temo Mayanavanua, Tom Lockett and fellow new signing George Smith to compete with for game-time.
And the 6ft 7in second row is already relishing being a part of the set-up at the Club in his relatively short time at cinch Stadium at Franklin‘s Gardens so far.
Hunter-Hill said: “One of the main things I noticed on my first day is that pretty much all of the coaches came up to me and said they would like to have a coffee with me and pick my brain on how Sarries operate, how their training systems operate, and how things go.
“It really struck me that they're quite prepared to change their ways and are constantly adapting what they’re doing.
“In terms of how the day-to-day operates, I feel like most clubs will be similar. But [Saints] are a very tight-knit group, everyone is very friendly with each other, we went for a beer after the first day of training.
“I was at Sarries for a long time, played a lot of rugby there, had a lot of success there – but I maybe got to the point where I personally needed a bit of a change-up.
“Obviously Saints are on the up and they’ve got a great set-up, great coaches. Everyone’s enthusiastic, there’s a lot of young players who are really performing to the highest of their ability and it just seemed like a good place to be a part of.”
Callum Hunter-Hill
As he settles into life as a Saint, Hunter-Hill believes it’s that new environment and Northampton’s style of play that he’ll be able to contribute to when the season gets underway next month.
Preseason clashes against Leinster Rugby (7 September) and Bedford Blues (13 September) precede Saints’ Premiership opener at Bath Rugby on Friday 20 September.
“I’m quite a mobile player, good at getting myself around the park, and at Saints they seem to really prioritise that,” he said.
“They want guys who are able to get around and move themselves, and on top of that, the way their defensive system works there’s a lot of time in tackle and a lot of specific physicality of being able to slow teams down and get guys on their feet around the park.
“It all just suits me as a player.”
Getting stuck into a sixth Gallagher Premiership campaign is first on the list for Hunter-Hill, but having featured for Scotland Under-20s – playing alongside Saints teammates Robbie Smith and Rory Hutchinson – international ambitions remain a goal for the lock.
“I played Scotland Under-20s,” said Hunter-Hill “And one of the main reasons I was looking for a change [of club] was to push myself into international contention.
“I’ve had a pretty bad run with injuries, and I was out for pretty much the whole of last year and the year before that I was out for a few months as well. My body probably needed a bit of a change-up.
“One of my biggest goals is still to play for Scotland.”
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